Sailor Moon: Breaking Training
by paladin313
Summary: 3rd in series.  A story to bridge the gap between the other two.  A new threat has come to earth from the stars, but our heroes now have more to contend with than just that.  By order of the Navy, they must attend Officer Candidacy School.
1. Chapter 1

**SAILOR MOON: BREAKING TRAINING**

By

John O. Smith

Introduction

Okay, okay, I understand: this should have been written before _Sailor Moon of the 30__th__ Century._ However, you can't say enough about fans. Sometimes, they can spot things you don't catch, or should have caught, and one fan suggested that I did some kind of a story that dealt with the time between. In other words, we have a jump from our heroes going from entering college to leading the Solar System, and the system navy. People want to know where this came from, and this is a story that will help provide this. However, don't think that this is going to be without adventure, because, indeed, as we all know, trouble could come from anywhere, and absolutely keep our heroes busy! Therefore, be prepared for some great comedy, as well as great adventure, as we watch our friends take on yet another threat, and face the greatest challenge they have ever seen in their civilian lives: officer candidacy school training!

Prologue

It was a cruise ship that the newlywed Chibas and Reichmanns had used to take their honeymoon. The ship had dropped off their passengers, and it had just taken on a new load, as it was to head through the Panama Canal into the Caribbean. The cruise was a typical one, loaded with newlyweds, lovers looking to make a deeper bond, and those having anniversaries looking to enjoy the love that they all had. None had any idea how fate was to play her hand.

Not hours after the ship had left, over the Caribbean was seen what was assumed a shooting star. What they did not see was where it landed in the water. Because it settled in, rather than struck the water, no one paid it any mind. The thing drifted down and landed in some coral. Once this happened, things started to form fast, and before long, a small island began to rise out of the water not too far from Bermuda. Because of the nature of what had come to that area, tropical plant life began to grow at an alarming rate. However, no one could see it, because that which caused it to be also caused a constant fog about it to obscure things. By the time the ship arrived in that area, there was a massive island. This, of course, the ship knew nothing of, and as a result, headed right into the fog. Once they did, they turned on their beacon, and the island swung into full view on the equipment. The captain began to call for a course change, and started to ask his navigator why this had never been seen before. Yet, before there could be a response, a faint but extremely beautiful singing could be heard. Everyone stopped to hear the singing, and someone opened up the window to hear it better.

Meanwhile everyone on deck milling around that evening also began to hear the singing and stopped themselves. People in their cabins then began to notice the thunderous silence that now replaced the din of partygoers that had been moving around outside. They too came out, and then they became entranced with the singing as well. The crew on the bridge even seemed to be pushing the boat towards the sound as if anxious to get to it.

It would be the last time that ship would be seen afloat.

Chapter 1

They had not been long home from the double honeymoon, and the start of college sat before one of them. Usagi Tsukino Chiba was about to start at the college from where her new husband had graduated, and, though she normally dreaded the start of any kind of school, this time it was different. It was college, which now meant no more school uniforms, and she could set her schedule. She could set a schedule to where she would be able to get all the sleep she wanted and still get to class on time. It was more laid back in atmosphere, in that, by this point, all the pupils there were considered responsible adults, and they now could answer for their own doings. No longer did they have the whole honor thing crammed down their throat: honor for the school, honor for the family name, and other such things. It was not such that they were not expected to pass classes, but attendance to class was the responsibility of the student, and whether or not he or she passed or failed was strictly on the shoulder of the student. Further, it was not six days a week like before. They could set it up for a few days a week, in fact, as certain classes were only taught so many days of the week. The other days could be left to study. Because of the study habits Tom had taught her, being lazy about study had become a thing of the past for Usagi, though she still had to be pushed a touch from time to time. She had already gotten her books and her supplies, so now she could spend the few months before she started setting up shop and basking in the afterglow of her honeymoon and how the two had now become one.

Ami was going into her last year of medical school and she was looking forward to her year of apprenticeship in the hospital under the tutelage of her mother. Because of all her time in extra classes and her extra study, she was able to graduate school early, cut some time out of college, and was now where she was. All her hard work was paying off, and her dream was going to come true for sure. Rei had taken over the temple from her grandfather, who was yet only in semi-retirement, and refused to have anyone else come. He knew she could handle things, and it seemed that her psychic abilities had only become stronger over time. She spent her time in meditation and prayer, trying to, not only in order to become a better priestess, but also to become a better Sailor Scout. As far as she was concerned, that would forever be an ongoing mission, as well as her mission to protect the princess. Tom, Minako, and Makoto were now major singing stars, yet, that did not stop them from pursuing other things. Because of the money they had made, Makoto was able to open up her combination flower shop and bakery, and have a large apartment right above it for her and her new husband. This was also good for Tom because, though he was a "star", he still had his obligation to the United States Marines to fulfill. Minako, however, dove into the starlet life head first, buying a nice mansion on the outskirts of Tokyo, large swimming pool, limos, and everything that goes with fame. However, she now also saw how lonely a life like that could become, and she was grateful that she had the friends she did, because they kept her head out of the clouds, and taught her to be generous with all the good things she had gained.

Setsuna, Haruka and Michiru all still taught at Juban High, and Hotaru still lived with them. She, however, was attending the same college as Usagi now, being that, though she was now about 16, she was smart enough to attend. She started to take her classes on nursing, which thrilled Ami to hear of that, because that meant, when she finished college, she would then spend a couple of years first becoming a registered nurse, and then a licensed practicing nurse, and would spend time working in the same hospital with her. Her dream had always been nursing, and now it had a chance to come true. Yet, of the scouts, they were the most active, considering that, because their forte was one day going to be military intelligence, and they already had some of that skill now, (and due to the dual citizenship all the scouts held, as well as now being members of the United States Navy,) they went on many missions for the Navy of which the other scouts had no knowledge. Things were seemingly moving as smooth as silk for everyone, yet that was all about to change.

Ravalli had since been promoted to Rear Admiral, but he was still the commandant of the local U.S. Navy base, and he had been overseeing the scouts and their use ever since the Princess Lin-Lin incident. However, an inspection came down one day from Washington, and though Uncle Sam was well aware of the scouts, (due to the awards they had received a few years back,) they still had no official files for them, (called the Department of Defense form 214, or the DD-214 for short,) and Washington wanted to know what their credentials were, where they gained their officer's rank, and so forth. Ravalli explained that the scouts names were actually code names, because their identities being known could endanger many people. However, that was not enough for Washington, because some big wig in DC said that, though they are what they are, if they were going to be a part of the Navy, they had to go through the same things everyone else had. This meant, at least, Officer Candidacy School. When Ravalli explained the issues that it might cause, especially with the identity issues, secretary of the Navy then told him that they would go under their true names, but once their DD-214 files had been created, the information would go straight to Washington to be seen by no other eyes than his, Ravalli's or the president himself. He was not sure how wise this was, but orders were orders. Ravalli then explained that one was actually a civilian who the Navy hired because he was not exactly a Sailor Scout, but he did work closely with them. He also said that one of them was already a United States Marine officer who had been to Quantico for his school in his alter ego, and thus his DD-214 would stay on file with the base. The secretary allowed this, but he insisted they be sent as soon as possible. Ravalli sighed and conceded, thus calling up everyone who would have to go.

Usagi was actually up early that morning, fixing Mamoru breakfast, long ago learning to keep her cooking simple, lest she make her husband sick. She had tried a couple of times before and nearly burned out the kitchen in the process. However, with some help from Makoto, she was able to get things down to where, at least, she wouldn't poison Mamoru, blow up the apartment, or kill herself making chow. She had set Mamoru's coffee out with the newspaper as she prepared breakfast, and she was so focused she didn't see Mamoru slip up behind her. He gently put his arms around her waist and held her close as he kissed the edge of her ear. "Good morning, Dumpling Head," he said, which was now a term of affection between them.

She smiled and leaned her head back as she said, "Mamoru…" dreamily, not using the honorifics now that they were wed. She then teased, "I just hope that I don't end up looking like a dumpling soon the way you have been lately!"

"Oh?" he said, "And I thought that you wanted to see Chibiusa again."

She just playfully growled and said, "I don't think I want to see her that soon, and in that way just yet. You keep telling me college is first."

He kissed the top of her head and went to the table as he said, "Hey, isn't Tom always the one saying that we have to make our own futures?"

"Yes," she conceded, "But if I don't finish college, then certain other ones won't happen. Let's just take it slow. That would be fine with me."

He chuckled as he looked at the paper, and the headlines began to speak of a cruise ship that disappeared without a trace in the Bermuda area. He then said, "Say, wasn't that where we had just been?"

"True," she said, "What was the name of the boat?"

Mamoru looked, and then he was amazed when he saw the name, and said, "Baby, it's the same one we just left!"

Usagi was just putting breakfast on the plates and preparing to bring it to the table when she looked with amazement and said, "Oh, those poor people! Oh my, that could have been us!"

"That is scary."

"Do you think it was the Bermuda Triangle thing?"

"Baby, I don't think there is any truth to that. I think they debunked that one long ago."

"Still, it's odd that it happened there."

Mamoru laughed and said, "Sadly, it might get people talking that way again."

She nodded and they began to eat and generally kept silent as they did, and that was when the phone rang. Mamoru picked it up and said, "Moshi, Moshi."

"Hi, Mamo-san," said Makoto, "I just got a call from Tom."

"Okay," he answered, "What's going on?"

"He said he just got done talking to Admiral Ravalli, and he was told to relay this to everyone."

"Is it an emergency?"

"Not exactly, but, it does involve the United States Navy, and I am glad Usagi will have the time before she starts school."

"Time for what?"

There was a bit of silence now coming from Makoto's end, and she said, "I am not sure how to say this, but, according to the powers that be in Washington DC, all the Sailor Scouts are going to have to go to Officer School…the same one to which Tom went."

Now there was silence from Mamoru's end, and then he said, "You can't be serious!"

"As a heart attack," responded Makoto, "They want some kind of affirmation that we have the proper credentials to be in as we are. DC knows that they have to keep things hush-hush, so, they are sending us under are real names, and then sending the paperwork straight to DC under our Senshi names, as if they were code names, and meant only for certain eyes."

"And this includes Usa?"

"That's what I fear. I am not sure how she would handle military treatment."

"Well, how hard is it?"

"Tom told me all about it. It is not quite like the training new recruit enlisted people get. It will be harsh at times, but not as bad: we will have rooms, weekends off, a week's break in-between it all, and then we will have the option to take specific job training at a future date of our choosing."

"How long will it last?"

"It's 13 weeks, not including the break, which will put Usagi right before the start of her college."

"Well, I guess that's not so bad, but I just wish those bureaucrats would have kept their noses out of things."

"Do you think she could handle it?"

"You mean, Usagi?"

"Yep, that's it."

He turned and looked at her stuffing her face and laughing hysterically at the funnies, and then went back to the phone and said, "That's a good question."

Makoto thought for a moment, and then she said, "It wouldn't hurt her."

He sighed and said, "Well, I guess I have to break the news to her. This is out of my hands. Oh, wait…what about me?"

"Well, you have a military ID, but they look at you more as a civilian contractor in a sense, so you won't have to go through."

"Now I know this might kill her. My goodness…we just got married. How is Tom taking it?"

"Well, you're not going to like this, but, Tom is temporarily being assigned there to go through the Marine Corps Martial Arts instructor program. Since he already knows Krav, he won't need much else, and then he's going to instruct while we finish up."

"So, you get to be near him and I have to be apart."

"Not exactly: because they are concerned the danger others may get into, I am going in as if I was not married, and that will be the same way for Usagi. We will be able to see each other on the weekends, but we can't really do much lest people get suspicious."

"This really stinks. Maybe I should call Ravalli and get this changed."

"That will do no good. As long as we work for the Navy, this is going to have to happen."

"We can just get out."

"I think we are in too deep for that now."

He was growing angrier by the moment, and he said, "I just don't like this!"

"Neither do I, but I figure, if one day we will be in an actual Navy, then this might be good for us."

That gave Mamoru pause, and he suddenly realized that there was something to that. Maybe this was a good thing. A little discipline never hurt anyone. He then said, "Wait, what about Hotaru?"

"They told Ravalli they are going to fudge her age so she can go through as well. She hates running, but she's just going to have to deal with it like the rest of us."

"Well, I guess I'd better tell Usagi. Wish me luck, because this may not go smoothly."

"I'll call the others. Hopefully, they won't be too upset."

"Hard to say: this is rather sudden after all, and I just don't like the smell of it. They are completely disrupting our lives."

"Being a Sailor Scout does that enough."

"Okay, well here it goes. Take care."

He hung up and went to the table again. He finished breakfast and Usagi began to clear the table. At that, Mamoru took the chance to tell her about the call, and explained all that it would entail. Usagi just stood there with the dishes staring at Mamoru blankly, twitching an eye and her lip. When he tried to ask her if it was all okay, she went tail-over-head and passed out. No, she didn't take it well at all.

5


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

As the word got around, there were varied reactions. Ami was stunned, but she understood the need, and she was grateful that it was in the break period between years of medical school that this would happen. She then told her mother that she would be going to America for further study, and her mother could not understand why. Ami said, "Believe me, mother, this will benefit my future far more than you realize."

After some thought, her mother told her, "Honey, you've always made wise choices up to this point, and I will trust you in this one…I have to. Just be sure to keep in contact. So, where are you going?"

"I will be going to Virginia," said Ami, "Tom-kun has…given me a chance to work with the Navy personnel there. He says that military hospitals are top-notch, and I would gain some skills that civilian hospital has to wait a few years to go mainstream."

"Oh, that is a good thing!" said her mother, who was now convinced that all was well, and said, "Well, I wouldn't stand in the way of that! Best of luck to you, darling. When do you go?"

"Well, it was kind of sudden," said Ami, "I will be leaving in a few days, but you have to take the chances when they come."

"Let's at least have dinner before you go," said her mother, and Ami said, "And we'll have one in celebration with my friends when I get back."

After a hug, her mother left, and Ami heaved a huge sigh of relief, knowing that she was off the hook, and glad her mother bought it.

Rei got the news, and her father, who had since retired from the senate and moved in with his daughter, (as they had patched things up,) overheard the conversation and became suspicious. After Rei hung up, he came up to her and said, "So, you and the scouts are going to America?"

Her eyes went wide and she stared in shock at what had just happened. Before she could speak, he said, "I found out in my last year in the senate. Knowing the work that the scouts did here and Japan and in assistance to the American government, certain members of the government here were let in on the deal. Because there is still an American presence here in Japan, and knowing that the actions of the Sailor Scouts would affect both them and us, they felt certain ones in our government should know. I was floored when I found out my own daughter had been a scout since she was 14. I wanted to get angry, and I had a mind to come straight here and haul you out of the thing. However, because you had been with this for so long, and nothing bad happened, and considering that I fairly well left you to fend for yourself, I really could not say anything. If I had been with you, I might have been able to get involved then, but that's a moot point now."

Rei, still not sure how to take it, and scared a bit now that her father knew, answered, "Papa, there is so much you don't know, and there could have been no way you could have stopped this."

He cocked his head and looked at her out of the corner of his eyes, and Rei then said, "Papa, please sit, and I will tell you everything."

She then took about an hour and a half to tell him the whole story, about the past, what she had been centuries before, the threats the Earth had faced, how it was fated because of all of that that she be what she had become, and whom she had to protect. She also told him of the dangers she and her friends had faced down, and how she had actually been clinically dead a few times, but willingly so to save the friends she loved, and to save the lives of the people of Earth. She told of how it was supposed to have been that none of them was supposed to have regained memories of this, in that, the old Queen Serenity only wanted them to be reborn to live normal and happy lives, but fate intervened. Even when it was thought that the threat was gone, and it was made so that no one remembered the fight each one had just endured, a new one emerged, and each one had to be reawakened. It was then they knew none of them could ever walk away from this thing now. There was too much of a need for them now and even more so since Tom came into the picture. Her father went through a gambit of emotions and thoughts, first wanting to be happy, then shocked, then angry, and then protective, but finally, he looked at his daughter with a new pride he had never felt before. She then explained the future, and why she now had to do this. He then said, "My darling child: I always wanted you to grow up a strong and happy child, and I know that things outside this temple were your ambition. I could not understand why you threw yourself so deeply into it when you had the chance to go, but now I understand why you did. Knowing what this means to Japan, America, well, the whole world really, I could not stop you. Go there and make Japan and me proud. Show the Americans how Japanese do it!"

She was beginning to tear up and just lurched forward to put her father into a great embrace. "I love you, daddy," she said, and her father said, "I know your mother has been watching, just as I know she has been watching over you the day you were born. Do her proud."

What had once been a strained relationship was now strengthened, and a bond that should have always been there now shined as bright as the sun.

When Minako heard the news, she talked calm on the phone. "Oh, I understand," said Minako to Makoto, "That's just what we have to do."

Makoto was shocked, "You mean, that's not an issue?"

"Of course not," she answered back gleefully, "It's only for a few weeks, right? It's not like our careers have gone off the rails or anything."

"Wow!" responded a stunned Makoto, "You're stronger than some had thought!"

"Well, you know what they say: now is the time for all good men to shake their booties."

Silence was the response. Makoto heaved a heavy sigh and said, "That's 'do their duty'. Honestly, do you really do any reading to be sure your sayings are correct?"

Minako just laughed it off and said, "Oh, you know what I meant. Well, see you at the airport in a couple of days."

"Oh…okay," said Makoto, who said, "Good-bye," and hung up, relieved that her friend took it so much better than she figured.

Meanwhile, Minako hung up the phone, and one could imagine her in a Hollywood picture as the camera panned back from her, to the outside of the house, to the outside of the city, and so on to the point they were looking at the Milky Way galaxy, and then a scream would have shook the image to the point were even Seiya looked over to the other two Starlights and said, "Did you hear something?"

The outer scouts got the news, but for some reason, they took it in stride. In fact, Haruka said to the others, "For some reason, I could see this coming. There was no way that they would let us run around without some kind of official training and paperwork for us on the books."

Michru then said, "We still have a month and a half left in the school year. How are we going to get out of that?"

Setsuna came in, just hanging up the phone, and she said, "Actually, I just got off the phone with Admiral Ravalli. He said that he could pull some strings and have substitutes slated for us with no questions asked. Hey, after working in counterintelligence the way we have, something like that is not surprising. Let's just get ready to close up the shop and go through this training."

Hotaru just groaned and said, "You know how much I hate to run!"

Haruka just put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Well, get ready, because, one way or another, whether you like it or not, they are going to make an athlete out of you!"

The day before they left, they were all called to Ravalli's office for a briefing. He looked them over and said, "I am so sorry I have disrupted your lives like this, but I have no other choice. The training is not going to be easy, and normally, if you could not have hacked it, you would have had the option to drop out. However, considering the circumstances, dropping out is not an option."

The faces of Usagi, Minako, and Hotaru went ashen as he said that, each one still not liking the idea of the whole thing. He then said, "I sent Lieutenant Reichmann already to throw off any suspicions or complications. No one can mention anything about the Sailor Scouts, or that any of you are married, or anything. Remember that. Now, to help you, remember, the ones that will be training you are not out to be mean, nor do they hate you, but they have 13 weeks to make you officer material, so just think of their loudness as just being intense. Just don't take it personally. Keep these things in mind: they yell so that no one can say they did not hear. If you forget, then the discipline you will get is deserved. They expect nothing but 110% effort in everything that you do, no matter what it may be. Thus, if you do the best that you can, and stay hard on yourselves, it won't be as bad for you. Just do everything as good as you can, and a little bit more. That's all you have to do. After that, you can take the schools you need on your time and at your choosing. Lieutenant Hino…I understand that you will be some kind of a commando in the future, correct?"

"That is true," she said.

Ravalli then sighed and said, "Well, then I guess that means the school after that is going to be SEAL school, and I don't envy you in that regard."

She just said blankly, "I have heard stories, but I know I can handle it."

He smirked and said, "I kind of figured you would say that, and I do believe it. Anyways, get some rest, and be prepared for the long plane trip. I suggest you try to sleep in such a fashion that you won't be thrown off by jet lag, because, once you get off the plane in Virginia, it's going to start. I wish all of you good luck, and do the Navy proud."

They all saluted and went out. Usagi looked like she was heading to her execution, and Minako tried to act as if nothing was wrong, though everyone knew otherwise. Rei just came up to Usagi and said, "Hey, don't worry: if you die, I'll just marry Mamoru for you so Chibiusa can rule in your place!"

"Die?" yelped Usagi, but then she turned angry and snapped, "There's no way Mamoru would take you, ever! You can't give him what I can."

Rei then got a sly look on her face and began to talk all sexy as she said, "Oh, and what's that?"

Usagi turned beat red, realizing how casual she had been with such things, and then she became even more angry as she shouted, "That's private business! How dare you speak of it?"

"I didn't bring that up, you did," said Rei, even more antagonizing.

This went into a bickering session that caused everyone to groan, hoping that would not be the order of the day through training, or else neither of them may never see the outside of the brig again.

After a long and dreary flight, they finally landed in Virginia, and they did try to rest as best they could, but the nerves of a few were going in every direction, fear gripping their every membrane. However, when they got off the plane, there was a young woman in a Navy dress uniform asking for all those heading to OCS. Since they would be the only ones on the flight, save for a few from the naval base itself that would be going, it did not take long to get them together. The skill in English varied for some, as they had all gained some fluency thanks to Tom and being around the base enough, yet, Usagi still struggled a touch with the language, and that made the others wonder how that would go. They were then ushered to a seating area, and there they found about 30 or so others waiting and they did not sit for long when a large, well-built sailor came in and shouted, "Alright, candidates, on your feet and outside!"

Usagi nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard that and tried to hide behind Makoto. When everyone began to move at a leisurely pace, the shout became louder as he snapped, "This ain't some social, you pukes! Move as if you had a purpose, NOW!"

Suddenly, everyone was stumbling over each other, trying to get their bearings as they heard this man's tones. They were not sure what he intended, but they also knew that, by the way he acted, getting him more riled would be very bad. As soon as they stepped outside, there was two more individuals waiting for them, but they were not sailors. They were in khaki shirts, brown pants with a thick, black leather belt around their waists, black and shiny shoes, and Smokey Bear hats with a black United States Marine Corps emblem in the middle of it. They were both screaming, and it was hard for those for whom English was not their native tongue to follow, but it had something to do with getting into a group, standing on a set of yellow footprints painted on the sidewalk outside the terminal. They were already looking like they were about to have aneurisms as loud as they were yelling, and actually got worse when people did not snap to it when they should have. Ravalli had tried to prepare them for this, and they tried to keep in mind what he said. Yet, if what he said was true, then these men were trying to make them forget what they had been told. In the screaming, they were made to understand that they were to stand there until the rest arrived and that they were not to move, talk, or do anything until they were told. In the process, one of the men shouted, "You want to be Navy and Marine officers! That means you are going to be leaders! Learning what that means STARTS THIS SECOND! ONE WAY OR ANTOTHER, WE ARE GOING TO MAKE YOU LEADERS, AND GET YOU THERE WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT!"

The scouts now _really_ wanted to go, and all Minako could think was finding out what clown in Washington DC thought they had to go through this.

After about ten minutes of standing, (what seemed like an hour to some,) the rest arrived, and the lunatics in the Marine uniforms started in again, screaming something about staying in an orderly fashion, boarding the busses by file and not moving until they were told to move. By this point, many of the girls were too scared to do anything else but obey, and they stayed together as much as they could, wanting to be sure they stuck together through this. Finally, they had their turn to move, and they were fortunate enough to get on the same bus. However, as they were settling in, Usagi tried to say something to one of the others, but before she could get more than a phoneme out of her mouth, one of the lunatics barked, "I don't want to hear another word come out of your mouths on this bus! YOU WILL NOT TALK, YOU WILL NOT SLEEP, AND YOU WILL STAY FOCUSED!"

The others were beginning to become annoyed at the treatment they were receiving, but they tried to keep in mind what they had been told by Ravalli, and that was not to take it personal. Yet, these men made it hard. However, Minako was beginning to seethe. All she could think was, "How dare they speak to us like that? What did any of us do wrong to deserve that?"

She really wanted to give one of them a piece of her mind, seeing that she had a good handle on the language, and she intended to do so the first chance she got.

Once on Quantico, the maniac on their bus started in again, and screamed at them to get of the bus as if it was on fire and form up again. Once they did, there were the same yellow footprints again, and this time, there were about five more of those maniacs waiting for them, all of them screaming and yelling one thing or another, but it was hard to figure out who wanted what. Finally, Minako had had it, and she got into the face of the one on the bus and shouted; "Now I've had just about enough of this! We have done all you said, and we haven't done anything wrong! Now, you need to just calm down and…"

That was as far as it went. He went ballistic and got within a millimeter of her forehead with his hat as two other maniacs came up and started screaming at her in either ear as he screamed, " JUST WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, FILTH! YOU THINK YOU'RE SPECIAL! YOU THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE! ARE YOU EYEBALLING ME! WHAT? YOU THINK I'M SEXY! YOU WANT TO HAVE SEX WITH ME! DON'T BE LOOKING AT ME UNLESS YOU MEAN IT! GET DOWN! PUSH!"

By this point, the others were already being led into the processing center, and the rest of the scouts glanced back, scared for their friend now, and wondering what had come over her to act like that. Yet, they also knew that getting that way was going to be the stupidest thing any of them could ever do from that point forward. They could only catch a glimpse of Minako as she was getting a workout she had not asked for, and somehow found motivation to do that she had never had before. The only thing she could think now was that she was grateful she had never stopped being athletic after school let out. She had an image as a pop star to maintain, and keeping her figure was important. She had no idea that her exercise would be something that would benefit her in this way. Before long, she was back on her feet, being yelled at again, being told that she would not laugh, cry, and she would, from that point forward, do everything by the numbers. They then sent her in, then ordered her to come back before she did, then sent her again, then ordered her back again, getting angry that she wasn't moving fast enough, and then she was finally allowed back with the others.

Once inside, she was handed a small green sack and a white mesh bag. She then stood before a small cubicle with the rest as a new maniac stood behind a podium telling them what they should do. Normally, Usagi would have probably fainted by this point, but, because so much was happening so fast, she had actually become numb to things, and doing things in an almost automatic fashion. The man screamed for them to hold up the mesh bag, told them what to put in there, then the green sack, then what to put in there, and then they were told to leave the rest on the desk. Then the command came to fill the white bag, then the green sack, and then the maniacs came by each one. Some could not remember what to put where, and the man got in the ear of that one, grabbed some things, threw them down on the desk, repeated the process, and shouted, "Green bag!" and "white bag" respectively, and then the candidate rushed to bag the items as the maniac went through the stuff on the desk and threw into a corner with a growing pile of other things they would not need, and were not allowed to have anyway. Oddly enough, Usagi got it right on the bags the first time, but as the maniac went through her stuff, he found all kinds of sweets she had brought along with her, and these were things they were not going to be allowed to have at the first while in school. The man went ballistic and started to shout, "WHAT, IN GOD'S NAME IS ALL THIS CRAP! YOU FAT LITTLE PIG: YOU HAVE NO CARE FOR GOVERNMENT PROPERTY! You want to be a fat balloon, don't you?

She didn't respond out of fear, and he then screamed, "DON'T YOU?"

The others, especially Rei, wanted to jump to her aid, but Setsuna managed to make eye contact with them briefly, and gave enough indications to say not to react. When they looked at her oddly, she mouthed, "Later," which, unfortunately got the attention of a maniac, who got into her face and screamed about how she wasn't a child in school, that she needed more discipline and focus, and how she was too old for foolish games anyway. A tinge of pride came up in her throat, in that, she wanted to snap that she was hundreds of years old, had far more discipline in her little finger than he had in his whole body, and that she was disciplined enough to be a teacher, but she wisely kept her mouth shut. She remembered how things were in the 30th century, she had seen similar to this, and worse, for the Marines of that time, so she had an idea what was coming. What surprised her was that her pride actually had bubbled up like that when he snapped at her. She choked it down, but things weren't so good for Usagi. When her maniac had asked the question, she had no idea what to say, and just started turning on the water works in only the way she knew how to do it. However, that just gave more fodder for the man, and he said, "OH GREAT: AND THAT'S HOW A FUTURE LEADER HANDLES PROBLEMS. SHE BAWLS LIKE A LITTLE BABY! AW, WHAT'S THE MATTER? LITTLE BABY WANT HER BA-BA?"

She suddenly called out, "MAMO-CHAN!" but the man said, "YOUR BOYFRIEND ISN'T HERE TO CODDLE YOU NOW, CREAM PUFF HEAD! YOU AIN'T NO LEADER! YOU JUST NEED TO QUIT RIGHT NOW! YOU'RE WEAK, AND HAVE NO STRENGTH!"

Now, the rest of the scouts wanted to say something, but they just dug in their heels. There was no way these people could have known who she was, and known she had more strength than anyone would have given her credit. However, they now wondered if she was going to go insane at that moment.

However, when she heard that, the words of Luna and Mamoru started to come back to her, all of them constantly telling her that she was stronger than she thought, and she started to remember when situations like this made her act strong. Somehow, somewhere inside her, something started to make her stop, and swallow hard. She took some deep breaths and started to pull it together, knowing that, if Luna had been there to see her, she would never have tolerated this. Now that she was calming, the maniac then said, "OH, SO I SEE YOU DO HAVE SOME CONTROL! Well, you'd better learn how to keep it together better, or I am going to see you get the DOR—Dropped On Request! This Navy has no room for spineless officers, GOT IT!"

"*gulp* Yes sir," she squeaked out, to which he shouted, "THAT'S 'AYE-AYE, SIR' CANDIDATE CREAM PUFFS!"

"Aye-aye, sir."

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"But you're standing…Aye-aye, sir!"

"I STILL CAN'T HEAR YOU!"

"AYE-AYE, SIR!"

With that, he moved on. Usagi went even number than before, not sure what was to happen to any of them now. Setsuna wanted to talk to her, but there was no way she could now. Besides, as hard as this was for her, Setsuna knew that it would actually do her some good. Apparently, it was surfacing some strength in her they all knew she had, and she hoped it would happen more often. They were then told that they were going to get some chow, and as they moved out, Setsuna thought, "Don't worry, princess: we'll get you through this, and you are going to be such a better person for the wear, I promise."

5


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

After the scream session, they were taken to a mess hall and allowed to get their lunch. What they found surprising was that things had calmed a bit. They were harshly told that their time to eat was limited, yet, at the same time, they were allowed to talk. This was the first they had had the chance to communicate since they had arrived, and their conversation was indeed brisk. However, to keep from getting in trouble about what they spoke, they talked in Japanese and began to settle themselves. Usagi was moaning, "Why are we doing this? This is crazy!"

"I agree," said Minako, "This makes no sense, and we did nothing to deserve this!"

"Someone in Washington needs to be hurt!" added Haruka.

Setsuna thought for a moment, and then she added, "You know, even my pride was challenged, but, you know, if the future holds true, what we learn here will be needful. One way or another, we would have had to undergo something like this."

"Still," added Usagi, "Why do they have to act like this?"

They all noticed that Makoto was smiling, and Michiru said, "I noticed that they didn't say anything to you."

"Yeah," added Rei, "And you didn't seem to need them to correct you on anything. What's with the smile?"

"Tom warned me about this," answered Makoto, "He told me what the mentality is behind what they do. Remember how it was said that we don't take anything personally? Well, Tom-kun told me that the reasons why they yell are a few. One, they want to be sure that they are heard. Two, they don't want to repeat themselves. Three, if you mess up and forget, it's your fault, because you have no excuse to say you didn't hear them. Four, Mina-chan, remember when one was yelling, and one was in each ear?"

She rolled her eyes, her arms and chest still sore from the workout session, and said, "Like, how could I forget?"

Makoto chuckled and said, "There was something they were actually trying to teach you out of that. They were trying to see how you handled taking instruction under stressful situations. Would you be able to know which one to listen to, and if you could figure that out, could you execute under stress. That's all it was. It's all a mind game. If you learn to get past it, you succeed."

They all now stared at her, not intensely, but in such a fashion as to indicate that the "gerbils were turning the wheel", and absorbing that. Ami then said, "Thus, phase out the nonsense, stay on task, do it as quick and well as you can…"

Makoto interrupted and said, "…and they will still call you every name in the insult dictionary. Nothing is ever going to be good enough for them, but again, that is only to make your mind constantly think to look for quicker and better ways to do things. Since this is also a leadership course, they would expect this more than normal recruits."

They went back to thinking again, and Michiru then said, "I only hope I can handle the physical side."

"You're a swimmer, love," said Haruka, "You have lots of strength and fitness."

She smiled and said, "Not as much as you working on engines and such."

They looked lovingly at each other, but Makoto warned, "Careful: even though certain things have been lifted on the U.S. military, that doesn't mean that fellow candidates would understand, and it just might add something with which the drill instructor could use to badger you. Just keep that under wraps for a bit."

What they had not noticed was a "brown round" slip up to the table—this time with a green leather belt—and he said, "You bunch: you're the dual citizen crew from Japan, right?"

They all looked up to see a well-built and handsome drill instructor, standing about 6'2", brown hair, chiseled looks, a confident face, but still stern as would be expected for such a man. Yet, he was not yelling, but still he was talking firm. He then said, "I can assume that the handle on English some of you have is not so strong?"

Minako had the best handle outside Setsuna, but she still had a notable accent as she said, "Some of us are fruent, yet, some need a bit of heowp."

"Well, listen up," he said, firm, but not loud, "All your classes are in English, and your lack of strength in English is not going to be any excuse for you not passing. I strongly suggest, from this point forward, you all begin to talk in English with one another as much as possible. Inundation is the fastest way you can learn, and you will learn much quicker."

They all nodded, except for Usagi, who was stuffing her face, to which this man did not like, and he snapped, "Hey, Puff Balls: listen up!"

Her head quickly snapped around, and he said, "I am addressing you as well! When a superior speaks, you do not ignore him! That's disrespectful and borderline insubordination! Got it!"

She swallowed the morsel in her mouth hard and said, "Yes sir!"

"THAT'S NOT HOW YOU ANSWER IN THE NAVY!" he said, louder this time, "You say, 'Aye sir' or 'Aye aye sir'!"

"Aye aye sir," she answered, to which he said, "I can't hear you!"

"AYE AYE SIR!" she shouted.

He smirked and said, "That's more like it, Puff Balls! Oh, and one more thing: if you can get a cover on your head with that style, that's fine, but you have to do something about the long hair beside it…put it up out of the way or get it cut. Women's hair must be in such a fashion that it doesn't interfere with regulation head gear."

With that, he walked away, and now they were confused. He was not like the others, and they all looked at Makoto, who said, "That's normal. Everything's going to be fine."

As they neared the end of their meal, the same DI got on a mic and said, "All prior service will form up off Sergeant Martin on the left. Everyone else will form off me for uniform issue. Got it?"

"AYE, AYE SIR!" the whole room thundered, and people then began to finish and exit the building. Before the team did, Makoto said, "Well, I guess they got a big group of prior service," in Japanese, then remembered herself, and said, (sporting a typical accent,) "Tom-kun told me of this. If there is prior service, we will not train with them. They have to do something different with us."

"Why?" asked Hotaru.

"Prior service does not have to go through all the yelling and things," answered Makoto, "They already have all their uniforms, training on certain things, and the discipline they need. With us, they start from scratch."

Once they had their trays put away, they formed up with about 20 others, and the instructor called out, "Right face!"

Considering that none of them had done any kind of drill and ceremony, they turned to the left in various ways. This was let go, considering they had not yet been trained, and the one with the green belt called out, "Forward…MARCH! Left, left, left right oh left."

It took a second for them to catch on, but they realized he was setting some kind of pace, and before long, they were all in lockstep with one another. Suddenly, the DI called out, singing, "They say that in the Navy, the coffee's might fine!"

Many caught on to what was happening, and they all repeated it, and he then said, "It looks like muddy water, and tastes like turpentine!"

This time, everyone responded, and it was realized that this was keeping the marching pace going. What they did not realize was how it was building morale and esprit de corps. They did this for about five minutes, talking about how the Navy gave you $100 and took back $99, how a chicken started marking time in the mess hall, the "fast and great" mail where someone got a letter dated 1948. Before long, they were before a large building and ushered in single file. As they went, they got two sea bags and started to get uniforms. Minako then tried to state her size, but the person behind the counter just handed her four sets of utility uniforms—all desert camo—and two hats. "But what if…" she tried to say, but the man behind the counter said, "If you've done this as long as I have, you just know."

She was moved along, and now she was worried that nothing was going to fit. At the next stop, at least, this time, she was asked her shoe size. She was then handed two pairs of tan desert boots, four pairs of olive drab socks, and she was told, "Standard panty hoes you can get at the BX and use for your formal stuff."

This was the pattern that went on: all quick and confusing, but nonetheless orderly, as they received physical training uniforms, khaki uniforms, and all the fixtures that would go with it, including lapel pins that had the letters "OCS" grouped together. They were shocked to see that they even got underwear issued to them…all brown! Everything was supplied, and they were shocked how quickly they were able to make nametags for them. All the while, they were being instructed to load all the clothes in the sea bags and to do it quickly. Once this was done, they were handed a manual about ¾ of an inch thick, and it seemed to be some kind of training manual. The DI then shouted, "This is what we are going to call your smart books! Everything you need to know is in there. We teach you something, and you can review it in there! When you get to the barracks, you will look up proper uniform wear, you will put on the utility uniform, you will then report to the day room. Is that clear?"

"AYE, AYE SIR!" was thundered, and they were off to the barracks.

Once there, the green belted one then said, "You will now get your room. You will not unpack or settle in! You are to secure your gear, put on the uniform, and report to the day room! You have 20 minutes to get this accomplished!"

The girls were relieved to find that they would be roomed together, but in different rooms. In one room were Rei, Haruka, Usagi, Hotaru, and Makoto. Setsuna, Ami, Minako, and Michiru were in the room next door, so they would at least stay in communication with one another. Once there, they pulled out their smart books and attempted to put on the uniform correctly, and quickly went into the dayroom as ordered. Waiting there was the green belted DI, and he said, "Grab some floor or sit down!"

Everyone quickly complied, and he looked over the room. He spotted Ami, and said, "Cadet Mizuno: front and center!"

She stood up, went over quickly, and he stood her before everyone and said, "This is how you are to wear this uniform! She has everything correct, in its right place, including the proper way to roll up the sleeves and blouse her trousers! This uniform is tactically designed that it gives off no body heat. You are not to iron these at all! You will destroy what has been built into it! If you are not like her, you are WRONG! Fix it now!"

Everyone was going over themselves and each other, all the while two other DIs were shouting at them to hurry and make it happen. This included Minako trying to help Usagi pin up her tails into such a fashion that they were out of the way. Once this was done and they settled down, the man with the green belt piped up in a command voice, "My name is staff sergeant Stoner, and I am you senior drill instructor! From now on, the only three things I want to hear from your mouths, unless told otherwise, is aye sir, aye, aye sir, and no sir! Is that understood?"

"Aye, Aye sir," they all said.

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" he screamed, "IF YOU'RE VOICE IS NOT AS HOARSE AS MINE BY THE END OF THE DAY, YOU ARE WRONG! GOT IT?"

"AYE, AYE SIR," they all screamed, not sure what crossing him would mean. He then said, "Because all of you are new to the military, your training shall be different than someone who has been to regular duty! This means one-half the day with me learning all the basics of military conduct and seamanship, and the second half of the day in class! I am hard, but I am fair! Because this is officer training, things are not going to be as strict as for a new recruit. This is because someone somewhere thought you leadership material enough to be an officer from day one. This means that we are giving you the benefit of the doubt that you will be able to get things squared away in the absence of orders and not a lot of micromanagement. However, if you prove otherwise, then what you will receive from me will be worse for you than for a recruit! If there is no leadership in you, we are going to find out, and either pound it into you, or run you out of here! Thus, from now on, everything you do will be with speed, focus, intensity, and high motivation! Is that understood?"

"AYE, AYE SIR!"

"Starting now, you will begin to order your lives in a military manner, and start to use proper Navy terms! They are no longer stairs; it is now a ladder well! That is no longer a floor; that is a deck! That is no longer a ceiling; that is a cover! That is no longer a wall; that is a bulkhead! That is no longer a door; that is a hatch! That is no longer a window; it is a porthole! That is no longer a bathroom; that is the head! You do not sleep in a bed; you sleep in a rack. Is that clear?"

"AYE, AYE SIR!"

"In each of your rooms, there is a standard operating procedure for how your rooms, wall lockers, and how you make your racks. I expect it all to be inspection ready by tomorrow after physical training, which shall be called PT for short! Is that clear?"

"AYE, AYE SIR!"

"In your smart books, you have all your general orders, and everything you need to know as common knowledge! The only three books I want to catch any of you reading from this point on is either your smart books, and text books from classes, or religious books! If it pertains to something that you will be doing for the Navy, I will let that go as well! Cadet Mizuno, you are a doctor in training, are you not?"

"AYE SIR!"

"That would be allowed then! I want to be sure you are doing all you can to succeed at this. For the rest of the day, you are going to be trained in Drill and Ceremony, or DNC for short! At the command of fall out, without all kinds of pushing and shoving, you will all go through the main hatch, and form up outside, quickly and expeditiously! FALL OUT!"

As they did, the other two DIs with the black belts were screaming and hollering for them to get moving, and they headed out like stampeding cattle not sure what was to happen next. However, as they were heading out, he called out, "Puff Balls!"

Usagi had a guess that meant her, and assumed that it was so for fear of incurring this man's wrath and went to him. She stood at attention and looked at him, and he shouted, "YOU DO NOT EYEBALL ME! YOU KEEP YOUR EYES TO MY HAT, THE WALL, OR NOT AT ME, BECAUSE YOU LOOK LIKE YOU WANT TO ATTACK ME!"

With great terror, she did what she was told, and he said, "Cadet Tsu, Sue, Zucchini…forget it, your name is too hard! From now on, you are Cadet Puff Balls!"

She shuddered, not certain whether or not she hated that more than Dumpling Head. It was obvious he was referring to her hair, but she wisely let it go. He then said, to her, "You need to stay sharper! For some reason, I see something in you that screams leader! Rest assured, if there is leader in you, I am definitely going to drag it out of you! Your friends seem to think you important! I fully expect you to find out how to spill that to the others! Is that clear?"

"AYE SIR!" she shouted.

"Outstanding!" he said, "Now, move out!"

She quickly scrambled out, and Stoner, began to stare out at the group forming as the other DIs tuned them up as such. It was odd: the nine from Japan seemed to have something different about them, but he could not put his finger on it. If they put out the way their vibes seemed to show, he figured that this could be the best class that had yet come through.

Once outside, he called them to attention and looked them over. He then said, "Cadet Meioh: you are a teacher, right."

"AYE SIR," she said with a serious look on her face…one of discipline and firmness.

Stoner then said, "You are now platoon leader! You shall be in charge when I or the other DIs is not around!"

He then looked at Usagi and said, "Cadet Puff Balls, you are her assistant!"

She gulped as he said, "If things go wrong when you are in charge, it is going to be harder for the both of you, because, in a real combat situation, dumb choices cost lives, and the more you take charge of, the greater the consequences! Do I make myself clear?"

They both shouted "AYE SIR," but Usagi was afraid of what that meant. She was also unsure why he had picked her. At this, the DNC lesson began.

He taught them the five steps for command and execution, how to properly salute, to face, and so forth. Then came the marching part, and that was where things got interesting. Many were being called out, chewed out, and doing push-ups for bad execution, but none were getting it worse than Minako and Usagi. It was feared the two of them would not be able to execute one push-up, yet, by what they were now going through, it was certain that would never be a problem again! Haruka wondered if they were going to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger before long. The worst moment came when "To the rear, march!" was called, and Usagi missed it, toppling over the whole file in which she marched as if they were dominoes. They were working her over, and Stoner was the harshest of all. Usagi wanted to cry again, but she remembered what happened when that happened the last time, and did all she could to suck it up. However, she could not help but betray a tear, yet, it was not anger at Stoner or the other DIs, but anger at herself for messing the whole thing up. Stoner, on the other hand, saw this, and knew she was really holding back the water works, but also noted she did not look at anyone else as she did. Outwardly, he seemed vicious, but in his mind, he was thinking, "Man, that girl is tougher than she looks! She doesn't act that way. That's a ship's commander if I can get her to believe in herself more."

However, what was interesting was how Rei, Makoto, Ami, and Haruka were reacting. As they worked, and the platoon was becoming more precision, they began to have a confident look on their faces, sticking their chests out more, and snapping all their moves crisply. It seemed that they were beginning to relish in what was happening, and it almost seemed that this life was suited for them. When Usagi noticed this, she now began to wonder more why this man had put so much on her. Couldn't he see that one of the others would be better suited for this?

After it was done, and they ate chow, they were informed that they would have weekends off, but they were not to leave post without a pass, and they were not to wear civilian clothes throughout their time of training. They were also told that they would be expected to be in PT uniforms and PT formation at two bells, (five in the morning.) Stoner then said, "It is highly suggested that you go and get your rooms squared away and to get in the rack early! You have between now and morning inspection after PT to get everything squared away! Be ready! Dis-MISSED!"

At this, everyone broke up to their rooms. There was no banter, because everyone was still a bit ragged in how quickly they had gone from airport to this point, and how much they had done and so quickly. As they were putting together their rooms to the SOP, (standard operating procedure,) Usagi began to slow, but Makoto, not noticing said, "Usagi, you did pretty good today. After all that marching, and what you went through, I thought…"

Before she could finish, she started to cry. It was not in her usual way, but she truly looked in pain as she did. She dropped the socks she was rolling up and started to collapse into a fetal position. "Mamo-chan!" she said, "I need you so much! Help me! This place is horrible!"

Haruka rolled her eyes and became cross, snapping out, "Dumpling Head: knock it off! We don't like this either, but you don't see us crying!"

Rei, who normally was another who did not like Usagi's displays, this time, realized that she was truly hurting, and went up to her with Hotaru to calm her down. Rei also gave Haruka an angry look as she did, wondering why this woman did not seem to have much of a heart. However, Makoto was not liking this, and she got up into Haruka's face and said, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't wipe the wall with you right now, you cruel cow!"

Haruka grabbed a handful of Makoto's jersey, and said, "You'd better be as good a fighter as you claim!" yet, that was as far as she got as Makoto hit a pressure point in Haruka's wrist, and then did a Krav flip as she followed up with a cobra clutch. Tom had been teaching her Krav Maga for a while now, and she now added it to her repertoire of fighting, mixing it with her Kung-Fu, making her even more deadly. Makoto then said, "You little whore dike: whether you like it or not, that is your princess you revere so well, and I am tired of the treatment you give her, especially now! For all of us, she has it the hardest!"

Haruka always thought herself a good fighter, and equal to Makoto, but now she learned otherwise, and found out why many people did not like to get Makoto riled. However, Haruka choked out, "Coddling her will not help her! This is how you learn to be strong!"

Haruka then managed to grab Makoto's left leg and yanked. Makoto went down and released the hold. Makoto hit her head hard, and she was in pain, as Haruka then said, "Never call me 'dike' again!"

Yet, Makoto shook it off and kipped up, ready to engage, and that was when Setsuna jumped in-between them. She had heard the scuffle and came in to investigate. She snapped, "Enough, the both of you! I am shocked at the two of you. This is not like either of you! I can write it off to the stress of the day, yet, I can't believe the way you two are talking!"

She backed off Haruka and said, "Yes, Usagi needs to learn how to fight through things like this, and coddling her will not help. Yet, remember; when you act like that, always put yourself in her shoes! Don't coddle her, but don't cut her down either! Cutting her down is just as bad as coddling her."

She then turned to Makoto and said, "You need to learn to cool your jets! Your temper is not going to serve you well here! Plus, I don't ever want to hear you say what I heard you say as I walked in ever again! Whether or not you care for Haruka's lifestyle, what you said is so rude and disrespectful that I could just slap you for even thinking it! You owe her a huge apology!"

Makoto looked down, now knowing she had let the stress of things get to her as well, and if she had been more in her right mind, she never would have said something like that. She finally said, quietly, "I was so wrong. It was cruel, and if you didn't like me forever after this, I would deserve it."

Haruka calmed herself, realizing that she needed to learn how to be a bit more sympathetic, and she said, "It was the heat of the moment. I already let it go. I should expect you to defend someone who has been your friend for so long."

They shook hands, and then hugged. Meanwhile, Setsuna kneeled down and said, "Usagi, it must be terrible to be separated from your home and new husband. I cannot imagine what that must be like. Yet, you know that there have been times that you have suffered far worse than this, especially under Queen Nehelenia, and despite the tears of pain, I watched a strong girl go through Hell for a heavenly cause and not flinch. Usagi, tap into that strength, because you are going to need it. Be that strong girl, now, because, you well know the DIs are not going to have any sympathy. You are a princess, and Sailor Moon. Remember: we are all here for you, and you are going to get through this."

She stood, still shivering as she took in a breath, and then reached into the leg pocket of her utility uniform and pulled out her transforming compact. Setsuna smiled and said, "Ah, so you did sneak that through. What about the rest of you?"

They all produced their transforming wands and Setsuna then said, "Good…if there ever is trouble, we can act, even now!"

She then turned back to Usagi and used the sight of the compact to her advantage. She said, "If you ever get weak, and want to cry, if you can get alone, pull out the compact and remind yourself that you are stronger than all of this. If you can't pull it out, just put a hand to it."

Usagi smiled and embraced Setsuna, who then gave her a quick hug and said, "Okay, let's get this squared away!"

They all nodded, and went back to work. As Setsuna returned to her own room, she thought, "It's okay, our little bunny, you are going to become so strong through this, Mamoru may not even recognize his own wife when you return."

6


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ever since the first ship disappeared, scientists had been all over the area, looking at the whys and how, but no one could really place a reason. There was nothing but that fog that really could have done anything, and even then, if it had hit a reef or something, there would have been signs drifting out of that persistent fog. Soon after, a few day sailors and a couple of vacation tours went missing, and things were getting serious. Rumors began to fly about what happened, urban legends, and the stories about the Bermuda triangle started rise again. It was then decided to send in a couple of the shore patrol from Bermuda to check things out. The ships plowed into the fog, and summarily disappeared themselves. After that, no one dared enter the fog, lest what happened to them happened to anyone else investigating things. They would have to wait until the fog clear, but this was the oddest fog they had ever seen. It just would not go away.]

If someone were able to enter that fog safely, one would eventually have found the island that formed, and found a sizeable lagoon within it. They would have found half sunk the cruise ship, the tour craft close to shore, and the patrol craft run aground. They would also have found the vessels empty, and they would have heard the most beautiful singing they had ever heard coming from the center of the island—seductive and alluring. In fact, at the center of the island there was a notable glow that was warm and welcoming, and as one got close to the center they would have then begun to see the people that had gone missing, partaking of the islands fruits, frolicking like children, but mostly seated around the bright glow, swaying to the singing. At the center appeared to be a woman, very shapely, but only the eyes were visible on her, as that the glow that emanated from her both acted like a cover for her, and was the source of the comforting light. It made her look a touch wispy, but nonetheless beautiful. As she sung, before long, more began to sing in harmony with her. When this began to happen, she slowly swept her hands over the group, and caused to glow a bit those that had the best voices—both men and women. She then said, "Ah, my lovely children of music: now you must be elevated to go forth and spread the tune to all people that they may also enjoy the bliss you all have discovered. Step forward my songbirds!"

This, they did, all arising and swaying to the singing that had resumed. As she was floating about six feet off the ground, she was able to spread her light and be heard better, but as they approached, she touched the tips of her feet on the ground and illuminated the ground below the chosen. She also began to glow brighter and sing to a climactic point as the others sang in harmony, and before long, they had transformed themselves. She then told them, "Now, go forth and repeat the process. Bring bliss to all!"

Suddenly, they all turned into bright streaks and launched into the air. As then did, the bright eyes suddenly took on a sinister look as she muttered, "Yes, bring them all, and soon, this world will be mine!"

As Ami had already had things squared away, she went down to the dayroom for a bit to read, and to see whom she could meet. As she did, she heard the discussion of the nine strange girls from Japan that had come for officer training, and they were wondering why naval personnel were there at a place where Marine officers trained. She took note of this as she met and greeted a few people, and read the smart book, putting much to memory. After this time, she went up and knocked on Makoto's door, and they let her in. Ami then asked, "Have you noticed that all the other cadets around here are Marines?"

They looked at each other, they also noted this, and Rei said, "That is strange. Why would this be?"

Makoto said, "Oh, I had forgotten. Thank you for reminding me. As you know, Tom is somewhere on this base going through the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program instructor course, and because Ravalli wanted to be sure the whole team stayed together, he pulled a few strings in Washington to get us trained here. Some of the courses will be common, but some of it will just be us nine as naval officers and teachers will be brought in special for us."

Haruka then said, "So…our course is going to be special?"

"Pretty much," said Makoto, "Because we are the most unique Navy officers that anyone will ever see, our training will also be special. Think about it: normally, you need a bachelor's degree like the one Setsuna and Ami have already. However, again, Washington pulled some strings and fudged a few details about our past so no one would ask questions."

"I'll let the others know," said Ami, "Do you think we will see Tom?"

"Well, it depends on whether or not we learn hand-to-hand," Makoto answered, "It also depends on if Tom has finished his course by that point, and if he ends up our instructor."

"I hope so," said Usagi, "That would be neat for him to teach us!"

However, before the conversation could continue, a voice came over the public announcement system in the barracks and said, "It is now 2100 hours! In your racks! Morning comes quick, and waits for no one. First formation is 0430 hours."

"Well, see you tomorrow!" said Ami as she left, and everyone was soon in bed. It did not take long for everyone to get to sleep considering how strenuous the whole day had been. However, Usagi, before she drifted off, saw a shooting star that was almost obscured by the full moon in the night's sky. She then said, "I wish Mamo-Chan could be with me soon, and that I get through this quickly. Luna, take good care of him!"

The shooting star Usagi had seen was not that at all. In reality, it was one of those that had been transformed by the strange being that had built the island, and that one soon settled in not too far off the mouth of Chesapeake Bay, where the coral began to glow. It would take this one longer, because she was human, and not like what landed, but was merely empowered by her. However, the same fog began to rise.

At about four in the morning, the bugles blared reveille through the speakers, causing both Minako and Usagi to leap up, yelp, and hit the rack above them with their heads in their respective rooms. SSgt. Stoner could then be heard shouting, "DROP YOUR LOCKS AND GRAB YOUR SOCKS. PT AT 0430! LET'S GO, LET'S GO, LET'S GO!"

The others were quickly getting on their PT uniforms as Usagi was groaning and rubbing her head. She looked outside, and it was still dark! "Ugh!" groaned Usagi, "The Sun has sense enough not to be up yet!"

"Well, you can't say that you overslept now!" teased Rei.

All Usagi could manage was a dirty look, and she got on her uniform as well. Meanwhile, Minako was grumbling herself, yet, Hotaru was not very happy about things. She despised running, although Michiru did all she could to encourage her to swim and keep some kind of fitness for the sake of the team. Within fifteen minutes, everyone was ready to go, and they spilled outside.

Setsuna had also been studying her smart book, and because she had not seen SSgt. Stoner yet, she stepped out in front and held everyone in formation until he arrived. Once she spotted him, she called, "Class…A-ten-SHUN!"

They all snapped to, and Usagi was surprised how instinctive that had become, not realizing how ingrained things had been put into her head by how she had been trained. Setsuna did an about face and met Stoner with a salute, saying, "Class all present and accounted for, sir!"

He returned the salute and said, "Fall in with the class!"

She did so, and he had them go into PT formation as he had taught them the day before. They started with stretches, and at the first, it did not seem too out of the ordinary to what they had gone through in Japan. In Japan, they go to school six days of the week, but one day is wholly dedicated to physical education. On that day, everyone does exercises, and then they all go off to play one kind of sport or another. However, the calisthenics was something everyone did so that everyone got some kind of exercise. Yet, these exercises were not that much different, save for the fact that they were a touch more intense. Thus, Usagi began to fall into old patterns, and she was starting to fall behind. Stoner was quick on her case, saying, "Puff Balls, no shamming! PUSH!"

She wanted to fuss, but she remembered the night before. She was going to be strong, remembering what Setsuna had told her. She had seen far worse than this. She redoubled her efforts, groaning and straining all the way. She was still a touch behind, yet, for some reason, Stoner let up some on her. She began to smile a touch, thinking things were well, but then she heard, "PUFF BALLS…WIPE THAT STUPID GRIN OFF YOU FACE AND FOCUS!"

That snapped her back to reality, and on they went. After about 20 minutes of this, he had them all stand and close ranks, saying, "Time for a run…right FACE! FOR-ward…MARCH!"

He started to call out the steps, and then he shouted, "DOUBLE TIME…MARCH."

The pace went to a pace of 180 beats per minute, which would be a brisk run. Hotaru dreaded this part! As they went, Stoner shouted, "We do this for three days, one day rest, and then we do your physical fitness tests! We will really see where you stand then!"

He then began to call a cadence that matched the pace, and the girls were surprised that they were being asked to shout and sing while they ran. After a few minutes of this, the lungs of Usagi were beginning to burn, and Hotaru's legs were on fire. Usagi had never been much the athlete, whereas the others were such to one extent or another. Hotaru just never like running, and though she was a great swimmer, which gave her the lung capacity to handle things, the way she was using her legs in this case was different. At about ten minutes, Usagi was starting to fall back, but Makoto kept grabbing her shirt and keeping her up with things. However, Hotaru was drifting back, and soon stopped, trying to gather herself. Yet, Stoner came up to her and screamed, "THE ONLY WAY I WANT TO SEE YOU STOP IS FOR COLLAPSE, FAINT, OR PUKE!"

She stared back at him angrily for a moment, then stuck two fingers down her throat and let it fly!

After about 20 minutes of this, they returned, bathed in sweat, out of breath…even the fittest ones. Stoner then said, "On the command of 'Fall Out', you shall fall out, clean up, and be ready for inspection by 0630. FALL OUT!"

Everyone broke up and headed to their rooms to clean up and be ready. Usagi was able to wear her hair as she normally did while in PT, but she was wondering what to do with her hair in her utilities. She had read enough in the smart book about female wear of the hair, and she knew that it could not hang down below the collar and had to either be short, or done up in such a fashion that met the first standard, or did not interfere with the standard wear of military headgear. Rei saw that, and she said, "I suppose we could bun up the rest."

She did this, and it looked a bit awkward, but it seemed to work. By 6:30, they were standing by their bunks, wall lockers and footlockers open. Usagi's room was the first to be visited by Stoner. They all stood at attention, and Stoner slowly made his way around the room. Setsuna had everything as it needed to be, she knowing she had to lead by example, and Stoner just gave her a nod as he passed her. At Rei, he noticed one of her sock rolls were off, and he said, "Fix that! Things need to be uniform!"

At Makoto, one of her boots under her rack had the laces not done up neatly, and he said, "That's sloppy, cadet. Drop and give me 25!"

She wanted just to sigh, but held it in and started to push, not wanting to risk any chastising beyond what she had faced. At Haruka, everything was fine, but a button had popped open, and he looked at her, looked down, back up at her, they both looked down, and as they looked up, he raised an eyebrow, and she just said, "How many?"

"Twenty and get up," he said, and she proceeded to do so. However, at Usagi, things were in their places, but sloppily done, and he started to get red in the face. He then shouted, "WHAT ON GOD'S GREEN EARTH IS THIS! ALL YOUR UNIFORMS ARE HUNG SLOPPY!"

With that, he proceeded to yank them all out and throw them on the floor. He then said, "DID YOU FIX THIS FOOTLOCKER, OR DID YOU JUST THROW EVERYTHING IN!" and he overturned that. He then went to the rack and took out a quarter. He snapped it down and it just lay flat. "THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE! WHAT IN THE WORLD WERE YOU DOING ALL NIGHT LAST NIGHT! BEAT YOUR FACE!"

She was confused at the slang term, but he then said, "PUSH!"

He then turned to Setsuna and screamed, "AND YOU…BEAT YOUR FACE! YOU ARE PLATOON LEADER, AND YOU SHOULD HAVE CHECKED HER OUT! YOU FAILED HER! YOU TWO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE EXAMPLES!"

As they pushed, he was not telling them to stand. It was obvious that he was not going to let them off lightly. He then looked at the others in the room and stated, "You also failed, in that you are supposed to look out for your buddy! From this day forward, you will look out for each other; you will make sure your buddy does not fail again! Puff Balls: fix this mess right now! None of you is to help her! Meioh, on your feet! Now, we are going to see if you checked the rest of the platoon. If they are not right, you are going to be in a world of pain!"

When he and Setsuna left, Usagi just stared at the mess. She wanted to cry, but now, it seemed she was just beyond tears. She just stood there and heaved with her breath, not sure what to think. However, instead of letting her suffer, the rest said, "Forget Stoner: we'll help you. Indeed, we did fail you, so we should help you."

With that, they proceeded to get her to standards, but Makoto then said, "Remember, that's just his way of getting his point across. He's trying to tell you that you are better than this. You can hold a higher standard. This may seem odd, but I think he thinks a lot of you!"

"Pretty crummy way of showing it!" she grumbled.

"Just remember and don't let it happen again," said Haruka, "All you have to do is keep your stuff straight, follow orders, and scream at the top of your lungs."

The morning consisted of things that dealt with basic seamanship, and the afternoon was their first classroom dealings. The instructors, at this point, were nowhere as harsh as Stoner was, and that made them feel some relief. While this was going on, Tom was getting his MCMAP training, and during lunch, the company clerk came up and said, "Sir, there's a call for you in the office."

"Thank you, private," he said, and proceeded to the company office. Once there, he picked up the phone, and said, "Lieutenant Reichmann: may I help you sir/ma'am?"

"This is Admiral Ravalli," came the voice on the other side, "But don't stand at attention: I don't want to draw any eyes to the conversation."

"Roger," answered Tom, "What's up?"

"I am sure you heard about the things happening in Bermuda."

"Yes, and it is real odd."

"Well, we are keeping our eyes on things, and we are wondering if this would be something for you-know-who to deal with."

"Well, they are only in their second day of training. It would be hard to pull the out for that."

"Well…I just wanted you to be aware of it, because we may have to have you going into action."

"Understood, sir…anything else I need to know."

"Yes, not far from the base, in fact, there is an abnormal fog forming, and we wonder if this is the same thing that happened before."

"That's definitely worth looking at, sir. I think I can scout that out."

"Good man…once the weekend hits, see if you and the outers can scan it out. I'm out here."

"Roger, out here," said Tom, and he hung up. He then started to ponder things, and he just did not like it, or the timing of things. As he left, he thought, "I don't mind being a Marine Scout, but can't the world live without us for 13 weeks?"

After class, they marched back, and Stoner said, "Tomorrow, it's the same deal! I expect a bit more than I got today. It's a good thing you looked out for your platoon leader when I inspected! This is what it is all about! We look out for each other and lead by example. After this, you are all dismissed to chow and whatever homework you have…except for you, Puff Balls. We're going to check out your area of operation! Be by your things, everything open as before. The rest of you…dis-MISSED!"

They all split up, and the girls were now worried. They could not be there for her, and they wondered how she was going to handle it.

She stood shaking as Stoner entered, and he looked very closely at things. This time, there was nothing out of regulation, and he said, "This is what I expect every time I come in here!"

He then put on a white glove, ran it over the top of the wall locker, and he noticed but just a touch of dust. He then said, "I'll give you that things have sat all day, so this gets let go. Make sure I can't find ANYTHING on it tomorrow morning! Is that clear!"

"AYE, AYE SIR!"

He then turned on his heel, began to walk out, and then looked over his shoulder as he said, "Remember: start seeing yourself better than what you are now, and you shall have no problem graduating. Do everything as good as you can and a bit more! Get some chow!"

"AYE, AYE SIR!"

With that, he left, and Usagi stood there, wondering what just happened. She had known him to be cruel, but for that moment, there actually seemed to be a touch of care in him. Maybe there was more to what he was doing than what she was seeing. She looked at her studies and her smart book and remembered what Tom had taught her about study. Perhaps it was time to become a queen. With that, she picked up her smart book and took it to chow with her, beginning to smile, suddenly feeling like she was going to conquer the world.

5


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Within a few days came their physical fitness test, and, again, as it was before in their school system, such periodic testing was not unfamiliar to them. However, they were not sure what would be demanded of them here. However, the nine, instead of testing with the others, were separated and given over to the assistant drill instructors. They were told, "Go upstairs, get your swim gear, one set of boots, and one set of utility coveralls and report back here! MOVE OUT!"

With haste, they went back to their rooms and fetched what they were told. When they returned, they were marched to a separate location not far from the others, and they were told how to do the push-up and sit-up phases of the test. They were relived to find out that the female standard for push-up was not as high as it would be for me, and to pass it, a mere 19 needed to be done. However, what surprised even the weakest of them was, because of all the disciplinary push-ups they found themselves doing for one reason or another, they were able to do more than the minimum. Usagi feared that she did not have the strength, as did Hotaru and Michiru, but they shocked themselves when they were able to rattle out 30 within the required time. The other girls, who were already fairly fit, were able to do about 45 to 55. However, Haruka and Makoto took the cake! They were both able to rattle out about 75 push-ups, much to the DI's surprise. One even said, "You two are wasting your time with the Navy! You should have been Marines!"

Considering from whom that came, they both considered that a great compliment. When it came to the sit-up, though, everyone was surprised that they all possessed the ability to do somewhat more than just the minimum of what was required, and of course, those that had expected to top things did just that. They were then ordered to grab the things they were told to get, line up, and they were marched to the pool.

Once there, the order was given to change into their bathing suits and come back with the rest of the gear. Once done, they had the gear set aside, and they were told that they were to do a 450-meter swim as part of the test. Now, some were not certain. Everyone knew how well that Michiru, Ami, and Hotaru were at this, but they were not sure of themselves. Even though their lung capacity had been expanding already from all the running that they had been doing, but swimming has the tendency to wear one out faster due to the muscles needed to execute a proper swim and steady pace. In this case, it consisted of four and a half lengths of the pool, which was standard Olympic length. However, even that long of a swim can be a crusher to one not used to doing such things. There was enough lanes to have them all go for it, and they dove in, (save for Usagi, who looked more as if she fell in,) and started to churn up the water. For the ones that swam on a regular basis, they were tearing it up and managed to get about a lap ahead of everyone else. For the others, however, after about two laps, they began to feel it. Though the fitness they had begun to gain in the short time they had been there had benefited them, this was different. Swimming is typically an anaerobic exercise, due to the fact that one does not take breaths unless they absolutely have to in order to move faster in the water. This allows lactic acid to fill the joints faster than normal, and, if one is not used to it, it can be torture. By the third lap, the pace was beginning to show, and certain ones were falling back further than others were. Some of them were still able to finish in enough time to pass comfortably, but they were in notable pain. Minako and Usagi, however, by the fourth lap, felt more as if they were swimming to the edge just to survive and get out of the pool alive rather than take a fitness test. By the time they touched up, they had just squeaked under the limit before failure, and the others helped them out. They both looked like Luna and Artemis after falling into a bathtub when they got out. One of the DIs then said, "Well, it looks like there is another kind of PT you need to do in your off time! You WILL be required to pass this again before you graduate!"

The pair staggered to their feet, and the instructor then said, "Now, go up to the high dive platform and prepare for your jump!"

The all shouted "AYE, AYE SIR," and climbed the ladder. A DI then said, "This is going to be vital if you ever have to leap from a ship to save your life!"

He then instructed them on the proper way to do a feet-first dive, and then said, "Okay, line up and jump!"

However, getting all of them to do so was another matter. It was a long way down, and they were not sure what was going to happen, as would be expected for people not used to this kind of a jump. The DIs went crazy. "WHAT IS YOUR MAJOR MALFUNCTION? IF THAT WAS A SHIP ON FIRE, I THINK YOU WOULD NOT HESITATE TO JUMP! DO IT! DON'T MAKE US COME UP THERE AND CHASE YOU OFF!"

That was enough for some of the others, and off they went, but Usagi looked scared to death. It was odd that she would readily do a HALO dive with no chute to save Chibi Moon that one time when they had dealt with the Dark Moon Circus, but she would be scared to do this. At this, Rei knew she needed proper motivation, and she shouted up from the water, "Boy, would Mamo-Chan love to see his dear Usa-Chan all scared like this. I guess I'll have to comfort him."

Usagi's eyes went wide; she became angry, and jumped in, shouting, "YOU STAY AWAY FROM MY MAMO-CHAN!"

The next thing you knew, they were trying to drown each other, but they both froze when they heard, "KNOCK IT OFF!"

Once they had gained the girl's attention, and the men said, "Now, come out, put on your boots and coveralls, and we will cover drown proofing training!"

They exited the water and did so, and he told them, "Now, get into the water and await further instructions!"

As they did so, Minako muttered to the others, "It would have been better to teach us this _before_ we did the swim test!"

Once in the water, they were told that their coveralls could be used as a makeshift flotation device, and proceeded to teach them how to make one. It consisted of tying off the arm and leg holes, tying the legs together, submerging, using their breath to fill in the neck hole, and then closing it off with their hands while putting the legs around their necks like a life jacket. They were then told, "You can keep yourself afloat for some time like this!"

They proceeded in doing so, and they were thankful that neatness was not being tested at this point. However, what shocked everyone was that, by the time things were said and done, Usagi had managed to tie herself to her own coveralls, and, though she was staying afloat, she looked like she had wrestled an octopus and lost badly. The DIs started to go, "CADET, WHAT…" but could not contain themselves, and they started to try to stifle back a laughing fit as they saw that, and had to leave the room before they lost it before the girls. Once in the office, they broke up in hysterics!

Once they changed, the inspections happened again, but by this point, they were already getting it. Corrections began to come less and less, yet, the standards were being pushed higher and higher, programming in them the sense never to be satisfied with "good enough". Once they had formed up outside, they were marched to the armory, and weapons familiarization began. All of them were issued the M-16A4, considering that it was the platform upon which all the weapons in the U.S. military were based. In modern times, the M-4 was more used in the field of combat, but the principles used to prepare one for battle were the same on the M-16. Yet, none of the nine was sure of this. None of them had ever fired so much as a BB gun. They were terrified of the weapon, to which Stoner shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU SCARED OF? IT'S ONLY A RIFLE! IT CAN'T KILL YOU UNLOADED, NIMRODS!"

They tried to ease up, but that didn't seem to make them very certain about the thing. Yet, they were about to learn how such fears were overcome without them even realizing that that was what was happening.

They all then entered into the day room, and a brief history of the weapon was given. Once done, they were all taught how to dismantle the weapon and clean it properly. For many in the class, the DIs was on the case of any of the class that was not getting the weapons immaculate. However, the M-16 details were in the smart books, and because of how Ami insisted that they study it closely, they understood why such attention to detail was needed, because of how well engineered the weapon was. In combat, a dirty M-16 was an M-16 that did not work, and that could cost you your life. Yet, by learning how to dismantle, clean, and reassemble the weapon in working order, they began to seem more confident in holding and wielding the thing. They had not realized that, by doing this, the thing did not seem like such a monster anymore. After this, they were formed up outside, and they began to learn the manual of arms in drill and ceremony. Now, by this point, marching and following commands of such was no longer an issue, but now they were to do it with weapons in hand. Because of their experience in drill training before, mistakes were now far less, but they also learned that now, with the rifles, they had to add a bit more snap. However, as they began to learn the moves, there was more of a sense of pride than ever before. To Usagi, all she could think was how cool she looked as she was doing it, and how proud Mamoru and Luna would be had they been able to see her. Once the basics were learned, Stoner called out, "Cadet Mizuno…front and center!"

She did so, and awaiting her was a slender wooden pole with a spearhead on it and a small flag. He handed it to her and said, "You are now the guidon bearer! There are standards for flag movement as well!"

With that, he proceeded to teach her the moves, and Stoner was mildly shocked to see just how fast and precise she was with the flag. He then shouted, "My God, Cadet: keep that up and we may have to send you to DC as a member of the honor guard!"

Once that was done, he decided to have some fun with them and he began to teach them honor guard moves. After a touch of fumbling and yelling, they were getting things tight, mostly because the nine, who had been used to working as a team all those years, and knew each other's moves well, they were leading the way for the rest of the class, and their precision caused them to tighten up as well. Stoner knew that, when it came time for a competition with the other classes, he was going to stomp them! Those other classes were prior service, but to him, that did not matter. He had what he needed there!

After the classroom phase that day, Stoner then gave the instructions for that weekend. He said, "Listen up: you have no set wake-up, but you are still expected to be back in the rack at 2200 hours unless you have a pass! You are not to leave post or go anywhere in anything less than your class B uniforms: is that understood!"

"AYE, AYE SIR!"

"You are to report back here for formation at 2000 hours Sunday night, and you are not to be late! Am I clear?"

"AYE, AYE SIR!"

"You WILL be inspection ready on Monday! Is that understood?"

"AYE, AYE SIR!"

He then proceeded to give the mandatory safety briefing and then let them go for the weekend. Once back in their rooms, Usagi flopped down, a bit tired, saying, "Oh boy, am I loving this! I get the whole weekend, and no one is going to bother me!"

However, Makoto's communicator went off, and when she flipped it open, he said, "Hello, my lovely songbird!"

"Tom-Kun!" she shouted, and then hushed herself, almost in tears, saying, "Hime, I miss you so!"

"I know, I know," said Tom, "But, my call is not a social one. Admiral Ravalli contacted me, and there seems to be an issue."

He then proceeded to explain the odd phenomenon off the coast of Bermuda, and now outside Chesapeake Bay, just on the edge of the continental shelf. He then said, "I am going to be by there later on, and I have been able to get some passes by special means so we can go investigate. It looks like scout work doesn't stop for us!"

Usagi sat up quick hearing this, not liking that her long awaited weekend was about to be ruined, and promptly hit her head on the upper bunk again! As she winced in pain and rubbed her head, she said, "You know how to spoil everything, Tom-Kun!"

"I heard that," he said, with a chuckle.

"We'll be ready," said Makoto, "Makoto out."

They all looked at her oddly with the interesting way she ended the call, and she said, "I guess this whole military thing is rubbing off."

Setsuna smiled and said, "It is said, when you marry a Marine, you marry the entire corps!"

Makoto just rolled her eyes and said, "That one, I already found out!"

The next morning, they were all in their class B uniforms as Tom met them. Makoto was about to run up and embrace him, but he gave her the eye, as if to say, "Don't blow our cover!"

She remembered herself and restrained. He was in a military van, saying, "I got the use of this for our mission, so pile in. Honey, wait until we are off base."

They did so, and once clear of the gate, Makoto reached around the driver's seat and embraced him. She was trying to fight back the tears, and not succeeding as she planted kiss after kiss on his cheek, saying, "I miss you so."

However, Usagi looked glum at the sight, wishing she could see her husband as well, and Minako gave her a comforting hug as she said, "Hey, its okay. Be glad for them. You know, you should call Mamoru the first chance you get."

Tom, overhearing that, said, "You can probably do that at the motel I have reserved for us by the water, for that is where we are going. However, don't act as if this is some kind of vacation. We have work to do. I hope that, if Ravalli pulled the right strings for us, we will have a patrol boat ready for us. We have to check out that fog."

This put them back in the mindset that they were indeed on a mission. There was trouble, and they had to get to work.

Once at Norfolk, they got their rooms, and then proceeded to the naval base. Tom showed his credentials and a special piece of paperwork that, once the guard saw it, he snapped to and escorted them to a small patrol boat. Once on board, they took off, circled the base, and then headed towards the open water. When they were out of sight, Tom said, "Let's change!"

At this, Usagi held her compact aloft and called out, "MOON CRYSTAL POWER…MAKE UP!"

The others followed suit, and the Sailor Scouts now stood ready for action. The boat cut its way through the waves as fast as it could be pushed and they headed toward the fog. Mercury had her visor out and computer, analyzing the fog, and trying to get a reading. However, it seemed almost impossible to get a solid reading. Mercury then said, "We may have to actually penetrate the thing. I can't read anything out here, as if someone did not want us to see what was in there."

"That doesn't seem wise, after what happened in Bermuda," responded Setsuna.

"We don't have a choice," responded Mercury, "Otherwise, we wasted a trip out here!"

Tom nodded and turned into the fog as Setsuna said, "Stay just inside the edge."

Keeping just inside the fogbank, he began to run his boat along the edge as Mercury scanned. It was clearer, but not much better. Yet, by doing this, she could see the start of an island. She said, "This is interesting. This island should not even be here. It seems to be growing form coral. This is highly unusual for an island. Besides, this area is not seismically active."

She tried to get a reading on the center, but that was blurred, and the computer told her this was being deliberately done. It was then that they began to hear the sweetest singing that they had ever heard. They began to smile and sway a bit, and Ceres had a large grin on his face as he began to turn the boat towards the island. However, Uranus, oddly enough, was not so swayed. She shouted, "Hey, wake up! You're going to run us aground!"

This was of no avail, and Uranus did the only thing she could do and slapped Usagi. "Wake up, Dumpling Head!" shouted Uranus.

Usagi was more shocked than hurt, but she also saw what was happening, and she held her scepter aloft shouting, "MOON HEALING ESCALATION!"

A glow covered the boat, and suddenly, everyone came to. Ceres now realized where he was, and said, "Time for a strategic withdrawal!"

He turned the boat around, but as he did, an angry female voice could be heard to say, "How dare you resist my singing. You shall pay for refusing paradise!"

That was when monstrous kingfish started to bow and breach over the boat, bumping it and smashing it with their tails. Ceres had all he could do to keep the boat straight, yet everyone else knew it was time to fight. Saturn called out, "Silent Wall!" and now the kingfish monsters were vainly smashing the shielding as they went. The rest of the girls started to strike with their various attacks, keeping the beasts at bay. Mercury, however, having control over water, caused a wave to form and started to push the boat along. At this she cried out, "Sailor Moon, NOW!"

She held up her scepter and said, "DEEP UMBRA CLEANSING!"

A large ball of light encircled a large area, and before long, whatever kingfish were left reverted to normal just as the exited the fog. Everyone looked at each other, now worried that they may have a huge threat on their hands, and worse, if this was happening here, at this level, how bad was it in Bermuda? All Moon could say was, (in a sigh,) "Here we go again!"

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Back at the motel, they began to mutter about just what they had faced, and what they may have to face if enough time passes. Tom managed to get a secure line and contact Admiral Ravalli about what they had seen. Ravalli then said, "I may have to pull you kids out of training."

"Sir, how long can things be delayed?" asked Tom, "What I am doing is official for the Marines. I grant you, they are here on a covert deal so that they can have the credentials enough for Washington not to ask a bunch of questions. If we pull them out now, well, wouldn't that make things worse, especially when they would have to go back through the whole mess again and maybe under other names?"

There was a notable pause, and Ravalli said, "Noted…we do have a timetable. Ships have been diverted from that spot off Bermuda, and by the demographics, things are going a bit slower than what happened in Bermuda."

"Wait," asked Tom, "How do you know that?"

"The phenomenon is repeating itself in other places on Earth, but our studies show that the fog bank unique to the whole thing is growing slower than it did in Bermuda, thus, Bermuda must be the source. You have some time before any of that becomes a huge threat. However, we may send in some naval units, but we will take some precautions considering what you have told us. Concentrate on getting your training done, but, if it gets bad, you are going to have to be breaking training and taking care of this phenomenon. Be ready and keep your eyes on the news. We are going to give it to the logistics people and see if they can figure out how to get past the singing that you spoke of, and then see if they can infiltrate the island."

"Be careful, though, because, if you can show you can resist, they can resist in nasty ways."

"I don't think what you spoke of is going to stand up with a well-armed Arleigh Burke class destroyer."

"We don't know the extent of its strength yet. We cannot assume that was the maximum in attack."

"That's what they get paid for, Marine—taking risks."

"Roger, sir…just keep in mind what I said."

"Roger, marine, out here."

Tom hung up, shaking his head, not certain about the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Setsuna asked Haruka what happened. She had been able to resist the seductive feel for the singing, and that was odd, considering that everyone was affected. Of course, Haruka had no idea, nor could anyone try to guess to figure out how to see if that could be spread. After this, Makoto went up to Tom and they embraced passionately, kissing hard. Both of them were under the impression that they were going to get to become intimate, and that was when Makoto looked over Tom's shoulder at a sad and moping Usagi, knowing that she could not have what they could. Usagi was desperately missing Mamoru, and this did not help matters. Makoto pulled away a touch and said, "Baby, we can't do this."

He looked at her oddly, and then she said, "Hime, it's not fair that we get this, and she has to watch. It just has to be torture for her. I think that I would feel the same way. Please, baby, understand…we can make up for this when this is over. If she can wait, we can."

He sighed heavily, but he smiled, knowing that his wife was right and said, "Okay, baby, we'll hold off."

He stroked her face as Makoto said, "In fact, I'm going to stay with her tonight, just to let her know that we care, okay?"

Tom was visibly hurt, but at the same time looked understanding, smiled as he kissed her one more time and said, "I miss you so much!"

"Be strong, Marine, and show me that discipline you showed me all those years we courted."

He nodded, and let her go. He went into his room, and just turned on the TV to try to get his mind off things.

Usagi managed to get through an international call to Mamoru, and managed to catch him at home, and when she heard his "Moshi, moshi," she squealed, "Mamo-Hime!"

"Usa-Hime!" answered Mamoru, "You managed to break away and call!"

"It's been a haze!" she answered all frustrated, "The most popular form of communication here is screaming!"

"That's the military for you!" he chuckled out, "It doesn't stay that way, believe me!"

"It's not that. When you mess up for the smallest things, they go crazy. Makoto tells me that it's not because they hate us, but I don't know."

"Have they been mean?"

"Well…I don't understand…"

"What's so confusing?"

"Sergeant Stoner seems to want to kill me, but there are actually moments where it seems he actually wants me to succeed."

"Well, does he?"

She thought for a few moments, and then she had to admit, "Well… I do remember him saying something on what they called shakedown day. He said, 'And I am not going to give up on you, even when you have given up on yourselves.'"

"Sounds like a good trainer to me."

"Sounds like he wants us drag us across the line kicking and screaming."

"If that's what it takes. Hime, look: you have seen hard fighting before, but not everyone else around your crew has. He is trying to instill in them what it takes to be able to act under pressure, and handle the stress related to that. Just try as hard as you can, and ignore it when it seems like that is not enough. Let it go in one ear and out the other, and just try harder the next time. Dad told me all about his time in the army. I mean, you can't say you didn't have moments where you felt proud to be doing what you are doing right now, right?"

"You know, I remember what happened when we learned the manual of arms. It felt like high school drill team, I mean, I watched them do it, but now I am doing it, yet, it felt like it meant more."

"They call that _esprit de corps_."

"Huh?"

"It means that you begin to feel more like you are all family with everyone in your unit, and that you would be there for them."

"I already feel that for…"

"I know, but it spreads out for everyone there, don't you think."

She pondered this for a few moments, and then she said, "You know, at first, everyone else kept their distance from us, but now I know half the people, and I think I may have even made a few friends, and get along with them at least."

"Well, there you go…that's just what I mean. Know that, if it came down to it, they, just like the scouts, would be there to watch your back."

"I heard someone call that 'watching your six'."

"See, you're learning already! Your English must be improving as well."

"I really have no choice, but, yes, I am."

There were some awkward moments after this, and then she sobbed, "I miss you so much. I wish you could be here!"

"So do I, but I know you can handle it."

"That's not it!" she sobbed more, "Makoto and Tom are together right now, and it's killing me!"

"Well, you said in one of your seemingly daily letters to me that you have weekends off. What did you think they would do if they had the chance?"

"But, it's not fair!"

"Usa-Hime, if I was there, and Tom wasn't what would you do?"

"Well…" she answered, tapping her forefingers together as if she was a naughty little girl, knowing he was right, and that was when she got a knock at the door. She asked him to hold on and she opened the door to see Makoto with her night bag, grinning to her. Usagi looked shocked, and tried to fluster something out, but Makoto mouthed, "Later," and gave a glance over to the phone. Usagi went back to it and said, "You won't believe this, but Makoto is standing here with her night sack!"

"Well, well, well," answered Mamoru, "It looks like you have better friends than you thought! If they can hold on, you can as well. Be the strong princess I know that you are…or else I may have to get Setsuna to send Chibiusa back to you for another visit."

"You wouldn't dare!"

Mamoru gave a mock evil laugh as Usagi laughed and said, "I love you."

"I love you, too," he answered, "Call and write as much as you want. I want to hear from you as much as I can."

They kissed their respective phones and hung up. As soon as she hung up the phone, she rushed up and nearly tackled Makoto with her embrace. "Mako-chan!" shouted Usagi, "I thought…"

Makoto put a finger on Usagi's mouth and said, "Tom and I could not stand to see you miserable. Besides, if we are going to learn how to be a better team, if one of us has to suffer, it's not right if everyone else gets privileges and worse if you had to see that."

Usagi just hugged her harder and Makoto returned the embrace. She then said, "Come on, Usa-chan, I am exhausted, and I want to crash. Let's get some sleep."

Usagi was now giggling as if she was a little girl, and she felt like she was a little girl on a sleepover. Usagi looked up at her with a girlish grin and puppy eyes, saying, "Can we get a bath first?"

Makoto just laughed and smiled, saying, "Sure! It would really bring back old times!"

Tom managed to get them back well in time for formation, and he gave one more kiss to his wife before he left with the van, and they headed in. Of course, the other female cadets were all over Makoto over who the man was, and what all that meant. She was able to bluff well enough to throw off suspicion, and they all went to their respective rooms to prepare for Monday and bed. In the meantime, Usagi looked up at the rack above her and began to think about all that had happened, and what she had been told. Mamoru believed in her, the scouts believed in her, and it even seemed SSgt Stoner believed in her, though he had an odd way of showing it. However, she also thought about what had happened out in the water that Saturday, and what all that would mean in time. She remembered how Tom had told them all about his talk with Ravalli, and how it was they would have time. Yet, knowing how things had gone in the past, could that be guaranteed?

It had only been a week by this point, but things were beginning to sink in somewhat. In other words, things were starting to become automatic for the girls. It especially surprised Usagi, knowing her own habits. In fact, things had become routine quickly, though they DIs were still pushing them to higher and higher standards. A few days later, at mail call, two letters arrived. One was from Mamoru, and there was no suspicion, considering that Usagi was using her maiden name while there. The other surprised her…it was from Luna! Luna had used Usagi's maiden name, so no one suspected anything, but she did take some riding by Stoner, needling her about the cute purple kitty head with the crescent moon, red cheeks, and smiley face drawn on the envelope. After he felt he gave her enough mild humiliation, he let her have her letters. The first one read thus:

My dearest Usagi,

You have no idea how your stream of letters and phone call have given me strength. Because of this, you make it feel like you are around even though I know things are otherwise. Your mother and father have been very supportive, considering that they think that you are taking some special school in America, loving the fact that you are actually trying to be the best wife you could be. I could only imagine their reaction if they knew the truth! I have always wondered if there would ever come a day where we would ever have to tell them the truth about our double life. Well, I suppose that it will happen one day, considering the future we know is coming. I dearly hope they can see you as the princess that I see in your eyes on a daily basis. Stay strong, my pretty Dumpling Head: I cannot wait to see what you have become by the time they are done.

With much love,

Mamoru Chiba.

She hugged the letter to her once she knew she was out of sight, loving how loving her husband was to her. With him sending his strength and positive energy to her, she could stand. She then opened up the other letter, and it read thus:

Dear Usagi-chan,

I was able to move in a couple of days ago, having convinced your parents, with help from your letters, that I was lonely and missed you. They still think me an ordinary cat, and so sulking and moping, lying on your bed and meowing consistently seemed to sell it to them. They loved me just as much as you did, though I don't think in the same way, and it pained them to give me away, but there is no way to make them understand the truth of matters right now. Anyway, I hear that training has been a challenge for you. Well, I am actually kind of glad that it is, because I figured that it could do you nothing but good anyway. I know what you would say: always you and training. Well, being at your best is always my concern, but I have to believe that this can only make you the queen we all expect you to be one day, and the fleet commander Setsuna says you will become. In the meantime, I have been doing what I can to keep Mamoru company and out of trouble, (though he insists that he always stays out of trouble!) ^_^ Anyway, I'll keep writing to you, and please write to me! I want to know how you are doing, and if I can help you in anything. Show them what Sailor Scouts can do!

Your loving friend and mentor,

Luna.

She had to admit, even hearing from Luna made her feel good, and feeling as if she had a support chain that went that far, how could she fail?

The next day, they were told to put on their utilities and the whole class was marched to the two-mile long obstacle course known at Quantico as "The Yellow-Brick Road." Yellow painted rocks marked the trail every so often, and there were several different challenges they had to face. They were sent out in pairs, and off they went. By this point, running two miles was no problem for them, yet, now they had to go over obstacles, so things were about to get interesting. When it came the scouts' turn, they tore into it with relish, but realized that they would still yet have to become more fit. However, Usagi was paired with Rei, they took off, and right away, Usagi was in trouble! She was okay for a few easier obstacles, but then promptly wound up in the water on the rope swing, barely made it over the vertical wall, and had difficulty with the cargo net climb. In fact, Rei was leaving the obstacle when she looked back to see this and growled. She was blubbering, as usual, Stoner was on her as if she was a bloody pot roast, and he was a Great White! However, Rei saw this, and was becoming fed up with this. She charged back up the other side and came down, saying, "Not this time, Dumpling Head! Get a move on!"

With that, Rei began to loose her and help show her how to do it, almost yelling as much as Stoner, but in a seemingly more encouraging way. At this, Stoner crossed his arms and smirked. They came to another vertical wall, and Rei cupped her hands, shouting, "Post up!"

Usagi took the hint and planted her foot sharply as Rei lifted. Usagi got to the top, and turned around to grab Rei's hand and pulled her over. Stoner was following, observing the whole thing and saying nothing. By this point, the other scouts looked back and saw what was happening, and went back to join their comrades. Suddenly, as they went, it became a team effort. In truth, the idea of sending them out in pairs was with the intent of trying to teach teamwork, and though this group effort was not normally allowed, Stoner saw a teaching moment in it and let it go. Once they finished, Stoner had the class form up and said, "I hope that you were all watching what was happening! These nine here showed much in the way of teamwork and leadership that is to be expected from all of you! My guess is that they have known each other for years, and because of that, there is a sisterhood amongst them that causes them to push each other! For those of you who are Marines, know well that, when you finish this, you will be a part of a vast brotherhood that will last long past your service years! This kind of brotherhood should exist in every branch of the military! A group acting as one can accomplish far more than the same group acting individually! Learn from this, and let it lock into your mind as future leaders!"

He then focused on the nine and said, "However, though it is good that you work together like that, start pushing the rest of the class, because your little clique is not good for the team! You are ALL one! Spread whatever it is you and your friends have, Puff Balls, because this could be the best class ever to pass through the gates of this base! If we can stomp all the other classes in this cycle, then you can know you are the best of the best in what the corps and the Navy have to offer! I don't care if we win by just ½ a point…we can still rub it into their faces!"

The Marines cried out "Oorah!" while the Navy went "Hooyah!"

As they marched back, singing some old sea shanties in a cadence form, Usagi now felt closer to her friends than ever before, and she also really began to see how she could affect people. She glanced at Stoner, and something dawned on her: if she tried to push herself and others, then maybe he might take a chill pill and back off. Now, her mind filled with all kinds of ideas on how she could be better, and try to get it to rub off on the others. Suddenly, she began to take a spring in her step, smile, stick her chest out, and sing aloud as they marched, singing, "_Oh Paddy lay back, take in the slack; take a turn around the capstan and heave upon. Well, about ship's stations, boys, be handy…be handy. We're bound for Valparaiso round the horn!_"

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	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

As the weeks past, it became clear that the scouts were becoming the leaders amongst the potential leaders in the class. Although attrition in this kind of a situation was often 18% to 25%, because of the strength the girls were giving, they lost only four people by this point—one by DOR, (dropped on request,) and three by dropping out. Usagi felt bad as she watched them leave with their bags in civilian clothes, but Stoner snapped at her, saying, "Cadet Puff Balls: if you did the same, I would not shed a tear for you! In fact, I would be furious I wasted my time on you, because I have no place for quitters like them! They were not leaders! There is no way I would allow slackers like that anywhere NEAR my Marines, nor are you going to want people like that who would cost the lives of your potential crews! Slack off like them, AND I'LL RIP YOUR HEART OUT AND EAT IT RAW! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"Aye, Aye sir!"

"Move out smartly!"

She went back, snapped back into reality. She definitely did not like what he had said about him ripping her heart out, but she did as was recommended to her, and let it go into one ear and out the other. However, Stoner had not been on her as bad, but there were moments like this. He was so hard to figure out.

A month had passed, and Tom graduated MCMAP instructor's school with flying colors. Much of what he had learned his father had already taught him in Krav Maga, and there was not much difference in the forms of fighting. In fact, the girls got to see him go through his final test, which consisted of him going through the Yellow-Brick Road, and having only half the energy than when he started before he went through the actual test: The Last of the Mohicans. They wanted to get the students to where they would have to fight in conditions not so favorable, considering that, in combat, you may not have all the energy you would like when engaging hand-to-hand. He had to survive four attacks under four different hand-to-hand situations. Living or dying was not what was being judged as much as his ability to asses the threat and make the wisest decisions under the adverse conditions. Even if he was beaten, if they had a hard time getting him down, then it was just as good as a win, considering that he was exhausted anyway. The whole concept was that, if he could do well under the worst conditions, he would be deadly when things were going better. However, considering that he was not only a master of Krav, and that Makoto had taught him Kung-Fu over the years that they had courted, because of that, he was still a deadly opponent. Because of the mind training Makoto had given him, Tom was able to fight past the pain and ignore it when it came to the engagement. He put on the protective gear and took up the bayonet-training rifle, ready to fight. He charged in, and one man with a piece of foam covered PVC pipe representing an improvised weapon came out. Tom did not even let his attacker have the chance to assess how Tom was moving in before Tom had deflected the "club" with the rifle and smashed into the chest protector of his foe with his foot. The man flew backwards and Tom was right on top of him with the bayonet end to the chest. The tester shouted, "Target down: move on to the next station!"

Here, there was a man with the same weapon that Tom had, but Tom remembered his training from Krav, and that was counterattack as much as possible, never giving your foe the chance to do as he wished. Though tired, he rushed in, threw the "rifle" at his foe who was not expecting the move, who then thrust his weapon up to block the missile. Tom was already on top of the man, grabbing his weapon, twisting and throwing a hip into his foe, causing him to fly over. Tom then ripped the weapon out of the hands of his foe and slammed the butt of the weapon into the face grill of his opponent. The tester then said, "Kill made: move on!"

He picked up his own weapon and moved on, but this time, there was two targets—one with a club and one with a rifle. He could not hesitate or else they would pounce on him for certain. Thus, he went with the one he figured would be an easier target, and that was the one with the club. However, the one with the rifle tried to stab him from behind. He sensed this and dropped quickly. The one with the rifle tripped over Tom, and the one with the club had to jump quickly to block the bayonet of his friend. Tom took advantage of this and pushed one into the other. He then jumped onto the two of them, and they all turned into a wrestling mass. This time, however, his foes were getting in a few good licks, but nothing of a fatal nature. Tom was now working on pure instinct now, being tired and sore from the course before and the previous two fights. Rage was overcoming him, and Makoto saw this as she screamed, "FOCUS, MARINE—REMEMBER YOUR CENTER!"

The others in the class looked at her, lost as to why she would even care, and she said, "Um…I've been trained in Kung-Fu… It's force of habit to say that."

The others shrugged and let it go, but as this was happening, Stoner said, "Pay close attention: in about three days, you will be taking the first of the five levels in MCMAP, and you will all have the basic tan belt level when you graduate! Cadet Makoto has the right idea—stay focused!"

Tom heard his wife, and it snapped him back to the situation, knowing that, even though his heartbeat was near condition black where fight-or-flight takes over, he had to keep in control or else he would fail the test. He channeled his chi into the fight, and, rolled as to where he was coming down on top of one of his foes. He then put a knee into his chest as hard as he could. He knew that the chest protector would absorb most of the blow, yet, he also knew that this man indeed would feel it. He then reached back, grabbed the shirt of the other, and threw him over the top. Yet, the man did not flinch and pulled out a rubber pistol. Yet, Krav had taught him what to do, and MCMAP had refreshed his memory of what to do. Before his foe knew it, Tom had snatched the barrel and leaned back out of the line of fire. He then pulled hard and had the man on his belly, ripped the gun out of his hand, and put it to the head of his foe. "Good job!" yelled the tester, "Okay, now your rifle is broken. Take up an improvised weapon and move on!"

He snatched up the club his foe had used, and he moved on.

Tom's legs and lungs were burning, but he remembered Makoto's words: remember your center. He stopped for a moment, sucked in some air, and pushed out the pain as he moved on. This time, they both had rifles, so it really would be six of one and half dozen of another. They closed on him as he charged, but he sidestepped and used the club to knock one rifle into the other to try to throw them off balance if he could. His foes stumbled for only a moment and turned to face. However, Tom smashed the club across the helmet of one as hard as he could, and the blow briefly stunned his foe. Yet, as the first went down, the other was coming in with a butt stroke. Tom ducked in time, but his arm went up and he took the shot to his unpadded elbow. He screamed in pain as his left arm went numb. Yet, the instructor shouted, "Reichmann: don't you quit! Fight through it!"

He rolled up just in time to see his foe come in, bayonet first, and he just charged forward, slid legs first, entangled his foes legs, brought his foe down face first, and hit him across the head with his good arm holding the club. "Kills made!" shouted the tester, "Your club is broken. Go bare handed! Move out!"

They were not letting up on him, and he really had no chance to recover much before he moved on. The girls were worried he was not doing well, but his instructors knew otherwise. He was actually tearing up the course despite the beating he was taking. Tom kept shaking his left arm and flexing his hand, trying to get feeling back into it before he faced his next foe. There was three this time, and he was not expected to survive this. It was more of a test of character this time, as one had a club, and two had rifles. He had no choice, he could not hesitate, or he was dog meat. He screamed, "BANZAI!" and went right for the one with the club. The clubber swung, but Tom, despite him not quite having the left arm back, blocked the blow and came right into the throat of his foe. Because there was a pad there on the helmet, he could not really grab the throat, but it still shocked his foe and knocked him down hard. As his first foe was reeling, the other two charged in. Tom kicked the first in the chest with a side kick, throwing him back, but the other tried a bayonet thrust. Tom dropped down, rolled onto his back just in time to see his remaining foe charging in to stab him, the first regaining himself and coming at him the other way, and the third just starting to regain his feet. Tom rolled to the side and used his last ounces of strength to kip up, did a Kung-Fu diversionary spin to the clubber and shoved him to the ground just as the other trust forward. Tom grabbed the barrel, pulled him into a forearm smash, took the rifle, and butt stroked his foe's facemask. He went down in a heap as the clubber was trying to ambush him. Emotion was starting to take over again, but now instinct was working to his favor, as survival was all that ran through his head. He back kicked and knocked him down just as the third was now coming. Tom began to go rifle to rifle with the man and got in a few blows. However, but this point, the other two had jumped on him and now he was wresting with all three. He was getting his licks in, but one of them then pulled out a rubber knife and stabbed him with what would be a fatal blow. "STOP!" was heard over the ground, and applause was heard from his fellow classmates and instructors. His now former foes helped pull Tom to his feet as his instructor smiled and laughed, "Lieutenant Reichmann, you are one tough son of a snake!"

They were patting his back and shaking his hand. Makoto wanted to rush over and congratulate him, but she remembered herself as she just applauded with the others. He just smirked and winked at her. He was dirty, sore, and heaving for air, but he actually felt exhilarated as the endorphins were really taking an effect now, and mouthed, "Catch you later!" to Makoto as he went with the others. The girls were so proud of him, not knowing if they could have ever done what he had done, save for Makoto, who knew that she would have fought just as hard. Stoner then got in front of them, saying, "Remember what you have seen here! Your final test will not be as severe, but note what you have seen! That Marine showed his Devil Dog today and there was no quit in him! That man is an officer, and he proved his leadership! That kind of fight will inspire others to charge on even when there seems like there is no hope! This is what I expect from every one of you, and I expect you all to motivate one another to do to succeed in this class!"

As they marched back, the girls remembered the fights they had already faced, and they realized that a situation does not make you rise to the occasion. The fight has to be in you from the start or else you would never make it, and they had proved that from the first with Queen Beryl and her minions. They had faced the "no-win" scenario, but because they had no quit in them—a quality they did not know they had possessed until the time came—they somehow, through the Silver Crystal, cheated death and put an end to Beryl's evil ways. Repeatedly they had done this to one extent or another, and each time they became stronger and stronger—more able to act against stronger foes as time went by. Somehow, they were now beginning to feel it was not the DIs that had to teach this to them, but that they had to teach everyone else. When they went to lunch, this indeed was the matter of discussion, and they realized that, somehow, this had to have been fated for them. There was a need here, and they now had to prove once again just who they were.

By this point, the military way of life was becoming second nature, and it began to be that the DIs were less and less rough, only having to scowl or threaten to get people straight, having to "kill" someone just once and a while. Yet, Stoner was still riding Usagi. It was not as bad as before, but he still scrutinized her every action. Yet, Usagi fought back by not letting it get to her and just getting it straight. However, what she did not realize was that her other classmates outside the nine thought her fairly squared away and a pretty cool person, and to see Stoner be so meticulous made them look at themselves and forced them to try to be even better. On top of all that, the nine were truly taking leadership over all of them and doing all they could to help them succeed as well. Stoner could see this, and he knew this class was going to be one of his easiest. There was nothing a drill instructor liked more than a self-drilling class! When they all took their next PT tests, most of the class was close to breaking post records. Stoner truly wanted to see them succeed, knowing the quality of officers that would come out of this, but he also loved how good of a noncommissioned officer's evaluation report he was going to get for this class!

The next day was the day they would actually go to the range and live fire. Up to this point, they had been going through training to teach them how to sight in on a target, and how to make a smooth trigger pull. This had lasted a week, and now they were to use that to find their battle sight zero for their weapons. The sights were adjustable, considering that, everyone's eyes were different, and they all would not see things the same way through the sights. Yet, despite how comfortable that the girls had become with their rifles, this was the first time any of them had ever fired an actual live round from a rifle or gun. Yet, when they got to the range, they the instructors gave a demonstration on how easy it was to fire the weapon to take any fear about recoil and the ability to control the weapon out of them. That did help some, yet everyone was still nervous, save for Setsuna, Haruka, and Hotaru. For some reason, they had a stoic view to the thing considering their actions in the Philippines some years before. Yet, Michiru still did not like guns, though having to use them a couple of times when she went on missions with the outer scouts for Navy intelligence. She never fired against a person, but more used it as a tool. Now, they were being taught how to fire at people, and that shook her a touch. However, what they did not realize was that the training they were receiving would make what they may need to do one day instinctive. They were each given three clips of three rounds each: the first three was to get an idea of how good their shot group was, and if good, how to adjust the front and rear sights, the second three was to see if the adjustment worked, and, if it did, the last three were to confirm the zero. They all got into a prone position, hands propped up on sandbags, and they prepared to fire.

However, the girls were surprised how much the trigger pulling training they had done prior to this aided them in their action. In fact, once they realized that the rifle was not the monster they thought it to be, they all began to relax. They actually began to enjoy shooting. For almost everyone, they all had decent shot groups on the first volley, and they made their adjustments. However, Haruka could have fit her shots inside a quarter, and Stoner was very impressed. The same thing went for Rei, but hers was a bit tighter. This, of course, was because of her time spent using Flaming Sniper. She had learned how to sight in with that, so doing this was no problem. However, when it came to Ami, when they checked the grouping, it appeared that only one hole was on the paper. Now, at this point, Stoner, and the other DIs, were not as harsh with them, and this was due to how they were trained: never tick off a person holding a rifle holding rounds that would tear out your innards if they hit! Still, Stoner was firm and he said, "Cadet Mizuno, what happened? Up to now, you have been doing things with almost mechanical precision to everything! Why is there only one hole?"

"This cadet does not know, sir!" she piped out.

"What do you mean, Cadet?"

"I aimed at the same spot each time on the bottom of my breath."

"Did you jerk the trigger?"

"No, this cadet did not, sir!"

"Stay here while I check another!" said Stoner, "I have to see what you do when you fire."

Stoner went to the next lane while Ami examined the target. She could not understand it. She fired the same each time, with no problem. Stoner came back with a target from another cadet who had zeroed and he placed it next to hers. He then said, "Now, look at this shot group…" but he stopped when he looked at one of the holes on the target he brought over, and at the hole on hers. He leaned in, and he could not believe what he saw. The hole was just a touch wider than the ones on the other target, and it dawned on him what had happened. She had stacked one bullet on top of the other, literally putting each bullet through the same hole! He looked at that, at her, at the target, at her again, and said, "Um…uh…make, the…uh…adjustments and get ready to fire again."

He went back, stunned that anyone could be that precise. If she had not been a sailor, she would have been a whale of a sniper for the corps!

After some sets, Usagi finally got to fire. However, despite all that had gone on, she was a nervous wreck. She was trying to keep her hand from trembling, but she was not sure what was going to happen. She finally squeezed off a round, and, despite the earplugs, she yelped and jerked the weapon. The whole feel of the movement of the weapon was shaking her, and she was even worse on her next two shots. She went down to the target, and she had one in each corner of the paper. Stoner could not believe it. He wanted to go off, but he knew his training, and he said, though agitated, "I have seen people do badly when they shoot, but this takes the cake! What is your major malfunction, Puff Balls?"

"I can't do this," she said, "I can't stand this!"

Her strength had been building and her confidence had been growing, but now it was all beginning to crumble. She was starting to cry, but not in her normal way. Stoner saw this, but, instead of ripping into her, he took a deep breath, calmed himself, and realized that different tactics were needed. Normally, he would take her aside and ask her if she wanted to drop out, but he was not ready to give up on her just yet. Though she seemed weak and spineless on the surface, and a bit of a ditz, he could see in her so much leadership potential that he could not let her quit if he could help it. Cadet Aino was a bit of a ditz herself, but she acted as if doing military or tactical things was second nature for her, (he not realizing her past as Sailor V and her time with Scotland Yard.) For him, Cadet Tsukino seemed much like Cadet Aino, and Cadet Aino seemed like what Puff Balls could be if she could just see the leader that she was, and more. He then said, "Come with me."

This struck Usagi as odd, especially the way he said it. It was not harsh, or in his normal DI way, but it seemed more personal. Not wanting to upset him, she followed, not sure what was about to happen.

He got her a distance from the range and everyone else watching the firing, out of sight a touch, and said, "Puff Balls, I don't get you."

Usagi was now confused. He was not doing as he normally did, but took on more of an instructive tone. She looked at him with that confused look, and he then said, "You have a huge heart, you have been helpful to others, and you push yourself in a way that we, as drill instructors, love to see in recruits or cadets. You seem to go out of your way for others, and yet, for some reason, you have little confidence in yourself or in what you can do. If you were not a cadet, I swear you would had to have come from the Japanese royal family, because, somehow, in that head of yours, seems to be a princess or something."

Now her eyes went wide! Did he know? How could he know? Before she could ponder this further, he then said, "My God, you have so much potential! Look at those bleachers where everyone is watching the firing. I can tell you, outside of your eight friends, though they are going to be officers, half of them are going nowhere in their military careers, because they just do not have the heart or ambition you seem to have in helping others. Going out of your way to see that the sailors under you are well tended to and properly trained is the mark of a great leader, and that, you have already shown! Yet, you act as if you are not this. Why? It makes no sense to me. You, well, I see you as a lieutenant or a lieutenant commander in seven years, and maybe even a commodore at least if you decide to do the full 24 years. You sometimes push yourself harder than we can, though you act as if you are incompetent, which I know you are not. All you need sometimes is the right motivation, and that, your friends seem to be able to provide. Once so pressed, you kick butt! I tell you what your problem is, and it is a problem that some others with a low self-esteem seem to have. It is not that you do not think you have potential or that you are not a great person, but that you fear your own greatness so much you are afraid to let it show. This needs to stop. You cannot go on like this."

"But…everything is so different, so overpowering…" she choked out, but Stoner cut her off and said, "Welcome to real life, Princess Puff Balls! Everything you do that is new or a challenge is going to seem different, overpowering at times, and sometimes, downright scary. It is how we are able to bear up against that marks our character. In other words, character is having the ability to carry out living by good morals without hesitation or fear of what anyone would dare say. The only reason why they would criticize is that you are what they are not, but do not have enough character to attempt to be. Now, what are you going to do: cave in to your fears, or are you going to face them down and show the world whose boss? Have there not been times when you were willing to succeed despite the obstacles set before you?"

She stopped and thought about all the foes she had faced as Sailor Moon, and how it was that every one of them would have seen her dead if they had had the chance. Yet, she did what she could, not only to stop them, but also to turn them from their evil ways, because she saw something in them that made them better people than what anyone could have ever given them credit. Only Queen Beryl and a couple of others had not changed, and everyone else had become allies instead of enemies. She could see the greatness in others, but she could not see that in herself, despite how often she had put herself in harms way, and often near the point of her own death? If she had that strength as Sailor Moon, why not as Usagi, considering that they were one and the same person. She finally said, "Well, there have been times that…that I really can't say what they are now, but, you know, there never was a point outside of my grades that I ever failed."

"Well, your test scores show you were an average scholar at best," answered Stoner, "Yet, that really doesn't mean anything here, at least, not as far as plain leadership is concerned. You can overcome challenges, but you don't ever give yourself enough credit. It's time that changed, Puff Balls, because there are going to be people that are going to rely on you to make life and death decisions, and they have to see in you that you are someone who can get them home safely. They can't see you as weak, or else you are never going to gain their support or hardest work."

She was looking at her boots now, and she realized just how much her friends had always told her how good a person she was, and she certainly knew what Mamoru thought of her. She needed to stop being a scared rabbit. She needed to be a tigress! Stoner then said, "It's almost chow. Go to the mess with the others and think about what I said. Then we will go back and get you zeroed."

"Aye, aye sir," she said, and went to get the chow, and as she walked away, he then heard him say in a sly way, "Oh, and by the way: you tell anyone we had this talk, and I will insure that you spend the rest of OCS in the front leaning rest!"

She smiled and nodded, as he just grinned and said, "Get out of here!"

After lunch, Stoner was right beside her, she being the only one not yet zeroed. He then told her, "Okay, you already know the sound the rifle makes, and you know the jump it makes, so that should not get you anymore. Now, think of it like some boy you really like. Hold him tight around the bottom and firm but loose around the top. The rifle kicks straight back, so you do not want to hold too tightly to the front and cause the barrel to jerk when you fire."

She pantomimed holding a person in that way, and then shifted his hands as if he was holding the rifle but not changing the grip too much. He then said, "Remember how I told you all to name your rifles…the men giving theirs girls names and the women a man's name? What is his name?"

Dreamily, she said, "Mamoru!"

"Is he someone that means something to you?" he asked, and she caught herself before she told too much, and she merely said, "He means quite a bit."

"Then, hold the rifle they way you would hold him," he answered, "Now, look through the sights and remember how you were taught to line it up."

This she did, and he said, "Now, wait until you are at the bottom of your breath, sight in, and then fire, all in a fluid motion."

She concentrated, and from one point to the next, went to the bottom of her breath, sighted, and fired, one right after the other. Now that she had felt the weapon fire, it really did not scare her as much. In fact, the whole thing felt smoother, and she did it for the next two rounds. They went and checked, and her group was about as tight as Rei's had been. After nine shots, she had it done. Suddenly, the weapon did not seem so scary anymore, and Stoner smiled, saying, "Well, it looks like you found something you can do real well! I cannot wait to see you in qualifications!"

Usagi was soaring now, seeing something in Stoner that she had not seen before. She had seen hints of this before, but nothing like this! As they formed up and marched back to the barracks to clean their weapons, Usagi began to feel as if she could conquer the world. Sometimes she wondered if she was not such a good scholar or that she had always been so carefree because she was scared of the great person she could have always been. Maybe she acted so childlike for so long because she somehow felt that, to grow up meant having to become the great person she feared so much. She was not sure, but one thing she did know: though she acted like that in times past, that did not have to be that way from this point on. Feeling like a child made her feel safe. However, now she realized that, being a child meant not having to face responsibility and challenges, yet, in reality, for her, it meant not having to face that other side of her that scared her so much. If people did not expect so much of her, she could avoid becoming that person. Yet, being that way always made her see the best in people as well through the eyes of innocence. Maybe there was a way she could become this great person that everyone thought her to be, and yet still be a child at heart. Once she got back, she would have to talk to Setsuna. She was having trouble sorting this out in her head, and, somehow, she felt Setsuna could help her sort it out. Any way she sliced it, she knew one thing—she had to become that person she feared so much. If she could face down the fear of that rifle, she could face down the fear of facing the princess she truly was, and saying, "It is okay to be that person."

6


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Once at the barracks, Usagi found Setsuna and asked her if they could talk. Setsuna could see the look on her face, and she realized by that that she seem at some kind of crossroads, and she wanted to know which way to go. Once alone, Usagi asked, "Setsuna…am I afraid of the great person sergeant Stoner says that I have in me?"

That threw Setsuna a touch, because she had not expected such a question at this stage of things. However, she also understood that something must have happened between her and the sergeant, and it must have been some interesting motivational talk to get Usagi thinking like this. To understand more, Setsuna asked, "That is an interesting question, princess. You must really have some big things on your mind. What brings this today?"

"I…had a talk…I guess you could call it that…with sergeant Stoner today," answered Usagi, "I can't understand why there are times where I can be such a brave leader, and helpful to others, yet for myself, or for the most part, I become like a turtle and want to hide. Why is this? Why do I act like this?"

Setsuna smiled and said, "Her highness now fully understands what it means to lead. I don't think you fear your own greatness as much as I think you understand the weight behind what it means to lead. Usagi—Princess Serenity—you are no different from anyone else when handed great responsibility. Yet, in your case, it was first thrust on a 14-year-old girl whose only concern was trying to pass her next math test, fighting acne, fashion, and wanting to have the perfect date. It would have been one thing if you had been told this and then been given time to grow into the role of Sailor Moon, but it was thrust into your face all at once. Since that time, you have grown, but there is still the urge in you that wants it to be simpler than that, especially now that you are married and have your dreams. In fact, what I think has happened here is that, you achieved your dreams, you were comfortable with being both Sailor Moon and Princess Serenity, and had some order again in your life. Now this has happened, and old ways are creeping back in. That is actually very understandable. You remind me of the king that allowed Damocles to know what it meant to be the king."

Usagi tried to remember her literature classes, and then remembered the story. She then said, "Wasn't that when the man was jealous of the king and all the greatness he had, as well as all that went with it?"

"That's the very one. What happened?"

"He gave Damocles a day as the king, and all the pleasures of it, but dangled a sword over his head held up by only a thread, threatening to break at any given moment. When he complained, the king said, 'Now you know what it is like to be me'. Is that it?"

"Yes, and you must feel like the sword of Damocles is hanging over your head!"

Usagi nodded, trying to figure out how this applied. Indeed, Setsuna was right, but how did this pertain? Setsuna saw the confusion in Usagi's face and she said, "Usagi, you desperately wish this destiny of yours was not going to be fulfilled, and yet, here it is. The question is this: what do you do with it? The proverbial sight of that sword should be something that urges you to remember that with this power comes great responsibility. Damocles could not get away from it, and neither can you. The trick is to remember that it is there to keep you the gentle, humble, but strong person you truly are, and never to abuse that. You feel that if you try to lead, and be what you are, that sword will get bigger and heavier, but I am sorry. It is not going away no matter how much you want to run from it. Yet, there is something else. Situations like this one make you try to fall back on the little girl you were because you feel safety in that, as if you could flee the responsibility that faces you. You have to stop that. It's not that you fear the great person you are inside—you are already that person on the outside! What you are doing is going to the little girl that has now switched places with the person you are now, hoping to become her again. It's not going to happen. She can keep you gentle and humble, and she has to stay around, but now you have control of her, or should. You have to stop living in the past. That is never coming back no matter what you do. You can't go back to the day it all started and unmeet Luna. You could have walked past the boys treating her badly, or even ignored the patch over the crescent moon on her forehead, but you didn't. That was the great princess inside you wanting to come out and acting as she should. No matter how you sliced it, it was going to happen eventually. Who and what you are would have come out, and Luna would have been there. You have grown into that woman, and you have to let that little girl go."

Usagi started to tear up, knowing that Setsuna was right. She was growing up despite her conscious efforts not to, and her subconscious was fighting against her. She was Princess Serenity, whether she liked it or not, and one day, she was going to be a queen…whether she liked it or not. "Usagi, what are you feeling?" asked Setsuna.

"I'm feeling selfish," she said, holding it back as much as she could and not succeeding very well.

"Why do you feel selfish?" asked Setsuna, knowing the answer.

"So many people rely on me now," she said, sobbing slightly now, "and all I can do is think of myself."

"How are you thinking of yourself in this?" pressed Setsuna, knowing the answer to this as well, but wanting to hear it come out of Usagi's mouth. She knew Usagi, once she heard it come from her own mouth, could no longer avoid what faced her, and actually, may make her become a true princess and leader. Usagi choked back a few tears and said, "Because all I want is my own wants and safety. I have never thought about what others wanted or needed when I get like this. I can only put people first when it is clear it is only the right thing to do."

"Or, it was a situation where you just let go and let instinct take over. That caused you to befriend foes, put your own life before others, bring about the third option when it seemed that the two other choices would bring a bad outcome no matter what was chosen, but it was only because instinct and the situation forced it out of you. That person is the frightened child you were. You are not a child anymore, though keeping the child in your heart would serve you well. Time to grow up, you highness. This is going to sound harsh, but you have to grow a spine. Instead of running from challenges, face them head on, and you'll find out they are not the big and ugly ogres you think them to be. You are already that great person. Let her shine."

Setsuna knew that was harsh, but to let Usagi know it was said out of love, she hugged Usagi, letting her know that, as a leader, all her friends would help her be strong. She would not be alone.

As the weeks passed, they qualified on their weapons, and Usagi shocked everyone in the seeming switch of attitude. Instead of fearing each challenge, she attacked them with relish, and when she came out on top, instead of gloating, she acted like a giddy schoolgirl, just happy to have come out on top. She picked up the weapon and fired from all the distances and positions asked of her, and she hit them as if she was a professional marksman in the Olympics. They then learned about the pistol, and the same thing happened there. Before long, she was heading the class behind only Ami.

Yet, as the weeks passed, other things were happening. In all the places where the fog appeared, the same phenomenon was taking place: ships and boats going missing, and then the bans from the local navies and governments to stay away from the island. This was going beyond the United States and becoming a NATO problem. In the Caribbean, the creature that was calling all the shots was saddened. By psychic connection, she knew that gains were stopping, and fear was striking. Yet, this was normal when it came to taking over a whole world, and that would mean readying more of her children to go forth. She then spoke to those there, and those on the other islands, "Send more singers, my children! They must know the blissful peace that your mother can provide. Send them forth and gather my children!"

Within those weeks, about six more islands began to form. The pattern repeated itself, and the creature knew that, soon, she could start her operations on the land. Soon, this world would be under her grasp, and then the rest of her kind can bring their invasion fleet to conquer what would then be a weakened and docile planet, with all its resources ripe for the taking!

Because the United States provided the biggest amount of active service people to act in matters, the United States decided to act. They had the information from the Sailor Scouts on the dangers of going into the fog, and the interesting defenses that the unknown foe could provide. Still, they had to know how to approach it if military attack was needed, and so they decided to send in a destroyer. They wanted something big enough to act and defend itself if, whatever this was, decided to throw at them the creatures that attacked the Scouts when it seemed they were not going to fall for whatever it was this foe used to subdue anyone who entered this fog. The crew must have felt like the crew of Ulysses' ship as they rammed earplugs in to avoid what they were forced to call the "siren song" and go in. The whole destroyer went into the fog, the men were all armed— sailors and marines— at all the defensive positions they stationed, and even the deck guns and phalanx cannons were armed and ready. They continued to plod along, and now, very faintly, the siren song could be heard, though muffled. Yet, it was too late for them to realize that they needed to block out completely the song, as some were starting to be taken in by the song. It was muffled, but still very beautiful. Just as Ulysses could not resist hearing the siren's song and did not stuff his ears with wool and wax, some pulled out their plugs. However, unlike Ulysses, who demanded he be tied to the main mast so he could hear it but not try to take over the helm and steer his men to their doom, they were not restrained. Those that did pull their plugs started to act to take over the ship, and they were resisted. One would have thought that a mutiny was taking place. Yet, in the struggle, those affected started to pull out the plugs of the others, and soon they were taken over as well. Before long, the whole ship was under the spell and headed right for the island. The ship bottomed out in the lagoon and held fast, and now the entire crew was spilling out all over the boat in lifeboats or just diving in and heading inland. Those outside watched the destroyer go in, and then seemingly vanish as, first, transmissions ceased, and then the ship seemed to vanish of the radar screen. This was indeed far bigger than what they had thought, and now it was time for drastic measures. They knew, by this point, the Sailor Scouts were near to finishing their training, but now they would have to break training and jump into the fray.

There was one week left to go in the course, and all the scouts were now very physically fit, more mature, and greater leaders than when they went in. Even Usagi was different, in that, no longer did they see what they had always known, but now they saw the princess she had been destined to be all along. This was not to say that the little girl in her had gone, because there were moments where she was that girl they all loved, but now it came out in such ways that would make her more endearing to people rather than cause her to run from a fight. It was as if Usagi went to sleep one night, and Neo-Queen Serenity woke up. Even Stoner was impressed. She was not the head of the class—that honor went to Cadet Mizuno—but she was indeed the leader of the class no question. This was the lowest attrition he had ever seen in any class, and he had to credit the nine Japanese girls that were in his class, who seemed to take over the training and discipline, leaving Stoner with merely the job of supervising. Indeed this was to happen by design, but it had never gone this well before. With one week to go, and after morning exercises, he said to them, "You are all now one week from graduation, and all of you have not only passed all the basics, but you have also passed in your classes of your navy specialties, and the only thing left now is to march in graduation. However, do not grow lax because you are co close! Sadly, it is at this point that we end up with washouts more often than not. They think that, because they are so close to being finished, they could just do what they want, break one rule or another, and blow it so close! Keep that in mind and keep your noses clean! On the command of 'fall out', fall out and prepare for inspection. FALL OUT!"

Yet, things were about to become more interesting for the girls.

The week was going to be spent rehearsing for the graduation ceremony, and they spent that first day going over it a few times, what would happen, what they were to do, and so forth. After that was done, they returned to the barracks, and standing at the entrance was one First Lieutenant Thomas Reichmann. He said, in Japanese, "Meet me out back."

Stoner saw the Lieutenant, saluted, and said, "What can I do for you, sir?"

"Sergeant, I'm here with special orders with a 'need-to-know' status. Don't worry, because it's all under control. I have already signaled to whom I must speak. Please, sergeant, do yourself a favor and keep yourself out of this."

Tom was giving that look an officer can give when he is serious and demands that there be no questioning of anything that was happening. Stoner just said, "Yes sir," saluted, and excused himself. However, he did not like the feel of this, and because it seemed to concern his class, he indeed had a need to know.

It was 2 AM by this point, and Haruka managed to go round and wake everyone up for the arranged meeting that they settled earlier when they spoke to Tom. Usagi mumbled, "Come on, mother…another five minutes!"

Haruka took a page from Stoner and dumped her out of her bunk onto the floor. She hit with a thud and a cry from Usagi, saying, "That wasn't very nice."

"We don't have time for that!" said Haruka, "A whole destroyer has disappeared, and we have to go to work!"

That shook Usagi awake, and she slipped into her PT clothes and began to sneak out with the others. What they did not know was that Stoner had charge of quarters that night, and he was watching a movie when he heard movement outside. He stuck his head out just in time to see the last few going out the back door. It was then he saw the unmistakable hairdo of Cadet Tsukino bringing up the rear, and he wondered if this had anything to do with what that lieutenant had told him earlier. He then grabbed his hat and followed up.

When he got outside, he saw that lieutenant again, but this time in his fatigues, and he was preparing to herd them onto a large van. He used the cover of the dark and managed to slip into the van, go to the back, slip under the last seat, and wait. He had no sooner situated himself when everyone else go on board and took seats. The van then took off, and Stoner really was beginning to wonder if he should have kept his nose out of it. Everyone started to snooze while they headed to the coast again, Usagi snoring as if she was a buzz saw. Rei wondered how Mamoru put up with that as they went. In time, they were at the coast, and Tom said, "Okay, let's go to that boat house over there and change."

They all piled out, Usagi mostly staggering from her sleepy state, and headed for the house. Once there, they transformed…just as Stoner entered and saw them do so. "HOLY…" was all he got out when Ceres spun around and said, "WHAT IN THE WOLRD…"

Stoner tried to regain his military bearing and shouted, "Would someone mind explaining what is going on here!"

"EXPLAIN YOURSELF!" snapped Ceres in his command voice, "I TOLD YOU TO KEEP OUT!"

He turned to the others and said, "Let's get going."

However, Stoner blocked his way and said, "Oh no…not before you tell me what is going on!"

"Move now…that is a direct order, sergeant!" snarled Ceres.

"I am not…" but he was cut off as Saturn put the point of her glaive under his chin, saying, "This is not a point for discussion, sergeant!"

"You are threatening a noncommissioned officer…" Stoner started to protest, but Setsuna said, "And you are disputing an official Navy officer, sergeant! Please, stand down before you must be subdued!"

However, Sailor Moon stepped forward and said, "Stop it now! I think it is about time he knows, considering that he would know about it eventually."

He stared at her and said, "Puff balls? You act like you lead this outfit."

"Actually, I do," she answered, "And be prepared for a sensational story."

4


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

After the story, the sergeant could not believe what he heard, but Ceres cut him off before Stoner could answer and said, "You do realize that you have violated four general orders by following us!"

Stoner could not answer this one. He knew the lieutenant was right on that account, and there was not much that he could say. However, Pluto said, "Fear not, I can get you back right before you left, so that you can actually be there without violating anything."

"You…you can do that?" he asked.

"After what you have seen, you doubt this?" asked Pluto in return.

Ceres filled him in on what had been going on, and he then said, "We have to take down this island and see what has really been causing it. If it is bigger and connected with what is going on in the Caribbean, we need all the information we can get. A whole destroyer disappeared, and we have to put an end to this."

"Then count me in," said Stoner, "If we win, then nothing is lost for me."

"In fact," said Pluto, "Just by discussing this, it may already be happening. Yet, if we lose…"

"If we lose," interrupted Stoner, "Then I'm dead, and there is nothing lost, because my life would be over anyway after dereliction of duty and disobeying direct orders. I have to have you succeed. Besides, why let all my good training go to waste?"

"Right then," said Ceres, "Sailor Moon is in charge, and she will be giving the orders."

She looked at Tom oddly, and he said, "Hey, you are my superior in this, both with the scouts, and as far as the U.S. Navy is concerned."

"Uh…right, I…" she started to say, when Stoner took that tone again and said, "WE'RE HEADING INTO COMBAT, SAILOR! NO TIME TO GET WEAK ON ME! STAND UP AND FIGHT!"

"AYE, AYE SIR!" she shouted out of instinct by this point, and said, "Let's load up, and move out!"

With that, they headed for the PT boat reserved for them.

As they sped out, Stoner shouted over the wind, "I don't understand why you guys are even in the school."

"Some idiot in Washington thought we needed the experience," Mercury shouted back, "They wanted something on the record."

"They're going to take the paperwork we get here and mark it with our code names and destroy whatever was recorded of us with our regular names," responded Uranus, to which Ceres added, "As far as you are concerned, you saw nothing!"

"Roger that," Stoner called back, knowing it was unwise to press further. He then went below deck and started to look around. It was then he spotted something he felt they might need, due to the description of what they told him they saw the last time they faced this. He knew the firepower was needed. He found an M-14, obviously put there for any designated marksmen that might have been on board, loaded some clips, and put on web gear he found for that purpose, and loaded on into the rife. He also found a khaki head scarf and put that on in place of his drill instructor hat. He was already in battle dress, so, as far as he was concerned, he was ready to fight. When he came above decks, Mercury handed him a set of earplugs that she had designed to block out all sound. She said to Stoner, "We'll talk with the sign language you taught us for combat conditions."

He nodded as he put them in and readied himself. However, Ceres said before Stoner did, "Only used that rifle on creatures. If there are people that have been commandeered to fight for the foe, you have to be careful not to shoot them. They are the casualty of the situation."

Again, he nodded, knowing that he would have to show more caution, which he feared might compromise their position, but he also did not want to catch innocents in the crossfire, especially military personnel. With that, they plowed into the fog.

At the island center, the people sat, though the ones that had been there for a bit actually looked malnourished, having had life energy sucked from them. Yet, they did not notice as they sang in harmony with the one in the middle. That particular one then sensed entry of another craft, and she said, "Sing louder, brothers and sisters. We have new members of the family coming."

However, it was soon clear that the song was having no effect, and after some more feeling out with her magic, she realized it was the same bunch of intruders from the last time, and so she did what she had done before. At the boat, they were ready, and Uranus was manning a .50 caliber machine gun as the others were on smaller guns. However, some of the others were going to use standard attacks, figuring that a mix of both might help them if they were attacked. They did not have to wait long. Arcing over the ship out of nowhere were giant kingfish, looking to upset the cart and make a meal of them. The boat rocked back and forth, and everyone on it had to fight to keep from falling off. Mercury was at the helm, now doing evasive maneuvers as the kingfish were trying to hit the boat as if they were torpedoes. Venus suddenly found herself signaling orders. Moon then mouthed, "I thought I was in charge?"

Venus could not answer due to the earplugs, but pointed and signaled what she wanted people to do. Venus was using Crescent Beam and Ceres his Meteor Shower. The remaining outer scouts were flinging their attacks, but Rei was manning a gun herself knowing her flame attacks would be useless. One then was on a collision course with the boat, and Jupiter yelled, "SPARKLING WIDE PRESSURE!"

The shock forced it to the surface and Uranus let loose with the .50 caliber gun and blew it away. There were still four more, and they were blasting away, wounding them, but not killing them right away. However, they were taking their toll on the fish and they were beginning to win the battle as they were breaking through the fog and seeing the island for the first time. The beauty of the island distracted them, however, and the last fish took its chance. It was heading straight for the boat, and it looked ready to pounce. However, when enough of its head was out of the water, Stoner placed a well-aimed shot square between its eyes. Mercury swerved away from it as it shot past lifeless. As soon as they were aside it, it sank into the water. They then headed into the lagoon to further the mission.

When they arrived, they spotted the destroyer run aground in the lagoon, and they now wondered how they were going to get ashore. Venus signaled to cut the engines and coast into the beach. She knew it would stop the boat slowly if they slowed enough before hitting sand, and not be so stuck that they could not get the boat out if they had to. They all piled out, Stoner keeping the rifle with him and staying in combat mode. Once on the beach and out of the water, they saw the glow at the center of the island and headed that way. Yet, as soon as they hit the tree line, sailors from the destroyer, (who still had enough energy to act,) came out of every direction and tried to take them. Stoner could not shoot, and they all could not use their attacks, but fought as well as they could. Yet, for all that, they were subdued and dragged to the center. Sailor Moon shouted, "It can't end like this! I'm supposed to be a queen, have a kid…" and rambled on about all she was supposed to do in the future. The sailors paid her no mind.

Once to the middle, they saw a young woman clad in a flowing white dress, and she was glowing. She then said, "Ah, our newcomers…please, remove their barriers."

Despite their struggling, the earplugs were removed and cast aside. She then said, "Now, why all the fuss? Our song is too beautiful to be missed. Please, listen to our song and enjoy. Then you shall see the peace you shall have with us."

With that, they began to sing, and the struggling began to stop as the song was mesmerizing them…except for Uranus, who, for some reason, seemed unaffected as before. She assessed the situation and realized that they were all under a spell, even the one that seemed to be in charge on the island. Using this to her advantage, she pretended to be hypnotized with the others, and then, when they thought they were all under control, the sailors let go. As soon as they did, Uranus grabbed a golf ball-sized rock and flung it at the woman. She was hit right between the eyes, and the song instantly stopped. Everyone snapped out of it, and Uranus said, "Sailor Moon…NOW!"

She came to her senses and raised her scepter, shouting, "DEEP UMBRA CLEANSING!"

The Silver Crystal began to glow on it and then shot out in all directions its rainbow colors, expanding all around the people on the island and beginning the healing process. However, due to all the people, she turned faint, but when it was done, everyone was returned to normal. The others were steadying Sailor Moon as everyone was asking what was going on.

After taking time to see that everyone was well, Pluto took the time to debrief everyone and let them know what had happened. There was a bit of hesitance from the skipper of the destroyer to trust the newcomers, but once he understood that the scouts were a special naval detachment, he began to do what he could to get some order. He then agreed to get everyone home and pull out the destroyer once the tides favored them. After things were calm, all the people were grateful to the scouts and now beginning to herald their names. Some of them remembered the medal ceremony on television and then realized national heroes had rescued them. Soon, it turned to cheering and applause. However, they found the woman that had seemed to be in charge, and Mars asked, "What happened to you?"

"I was on that cruise ship," she answered, "And we were all taken in by the most beautiful singing, as if they were sirens. All we wanted to do was listen, sing, and frolic. For some reason, the beautiful creature there thought I could spread this out and planted in my mind that I had to do this. That is the last thing I remember."

"It would seem to me," responded Mercury, "That your mind was being used as a set of eyes and ears for that creature you say took you over. If that is the case, someone in the Caribbean is quite upset right now."

Hearing that, Saturn and Neptune were reaching out with their minds, seeing if there would be any premonition that could come to them about this, while Rei tried to tap the psychic realm, and as they did, they tapped a mind that said, "You horrible women! You stole from me one island, but we have much more, and more that shall follow. This world shall be ours, and we shall make it ready for invasion! Prepare!"

With that, the trio screamed in pain as this creature…a female they had to assume by the voice and speech…hit them with a psionic attack. They struggled, and then broke contact. As they gathered themselves, Neptune said, "There is greater danger, and one that shall not admit delay!"

They were able to get the boat back by sunrise, and Pluto then said, "Come, I shall take us through time and get us all back just as we are leaving. That way, no one shall suspect a thing, though I am sure Commodore Ravalli is going to want a full report."

As they were preparing to head back, Moon then said, "I though I was in charge? Why did you seem to take over, Venus?"

"Well, aren't I the one topping the class in ship command?" asked Venus in return.

"Doubtful you top the class in anything, Usagi," teased Mars.

"You take that…" Moon started to say, but Stoner snapped, "Hey…we win as a team, we lose as a team! Training should have taught you that! You may be in charge, but we all have our top skills, and everyone is a part of the machine! We stand together or fall together. Glory hounds don't get far in the Navy or the Corps! Stand to, the both of you! Acting like this could get everyone killed in combat! Ears open…eyes, click!"

"Aye, aye sir," they both said in an almost Pavlov kind of way. With that, they went back to the barracks.

They were returned to the barracks just in time to see the van pull away, and everyone slipped back to their places. Stoner, however, was exhausted, and had all he could do to stay awake for the rest of the night. He was grateful that he would have the next day to himself. Indeed, the next day, the team was called out for a "special assignment," which was really a conference call to Ravalli where they discussed the next move. Once they gave the briefing, Ravalli said, "It is going to take time to sort through this and come up with a cognizant plan. In the meantime, no matter how many islands pop up, we shall give word to all national governments around the world to stay away from them. Get through your graduation and then you are to report to Washington. We have to nip this in the bud if we can, because it is certain there is no way that you or we could take them out one by one. My guess is that we have to go after the source."

"Logical enough," answered Pluto, "Yet, whatever happens, we shall be ready."

"Ravalli out," he responded, and ended the call. With that, they went out, pondering all that had happened, hoping they could keep their focus through graduation. It was not so much the anticipation of that time as it was the fear that something may happen in that time that would make taking this foe next to impossible, if not entirely impossible.

By the end of the week, graduation was taking place for them, and they were wearing their Navy best for the ceremony. Tom was in the audience wearing his dress blues, beaming for his wife. He could not wait until everyone was home so they could spend time together, and indeed, time together was on the mind of Usagi as they stood for the ceremony. This was accompanied by the usual pomp and circumstance of any military ceremony, complete with the marching band, trooping of the line, speeches about the future and such like, but what shocked them was one of the keynote speakers. Commodore Ravalli was there to give the speech. Along with the normal "you are the future commanders and future of the Navy" thing that would be heard, he also added this: "Some of you in this class have had some highly special training before coming here. Indeed, you sailors and Marines may wind up seeing action sooner than you think, and indeed, most Marines do see action about twice a year in varying degrees. I say that to remind you always to have the spirit of the Minutemen, and that is to be ready at a moment's notice for action. We are the most powerful Navy in the world, and it is the Navy, with the Marines, that always end up the first on the scene to help put things in order, and often resolve matters before the full brunt of the United States military is needed. This is a powerful reputation that we possess, and one that must be upheld with the highest standards of professionalism and integrity that one could offer. The rights of the free world depend on this Navy to be able to do its job, and I know you shall not let them down."

With some applause from those who came to watch their loved ones graduate, many of the scouts and Tom caught the code: as soon as this is over, get your houses in order, because you are going into action. After this, the call of "pass and review" was given, and they started to file out and march by the grandstand and the podium where the VIPs were sitting. When Usagi's class marched by, "eyes right" was shouted, and she snapped her head over. It happened to be at the moment when she saw that Mamoru had come over for the ceremony. She was about to shout to him when Rei reached out and gave her a quick poke. She regained herself and continued to march. Ravalli saw this, and he just chuckled, knowing he was able to foot the bill for her husband to come. By the time "ready…front" was given, she also glanced as her head was going back forward and spotted both Luna and Artemis. This surprised everyone who saw them, and they wondered how they had all gotten there.

Once the review was over, they met back at the barracks, and Usagi nearly tackled Mamoru upon seeing him, smothering his face with kisses. Minako spotted Artemis off around a corner, and had a reunion with him. Tom and Makoto, however, both being in uniform, could ill afford to be that affectionate, considering it might be out of protocol in a situation like this. Part of what they had to do when they got back was to line up at the front and receive their officer markings for their uniforms. Some of them were saying, "Thank you, sir," and he mildly corrected them, telling them, "It's sergeant, now sir/ma'am," depending to whom he spoke. They were officers now, and because they were now technically his superior, he had to render honors. When Usagi came up, he said, "Congratulations, ensign Tsukino."

She cocked her head and said, "No more 'Buns Head'?"

"You're an officer," he said, "That would be a punishable offence to insult you like that."

"All because I'm putting a silver bar on my uniform?" she asked with genuine wonder.

"That's part of the deal," he said with a grin, "You finish, you get the honors."

"Kind of feels weird after what you just put us through."

"It's just part of the rites of passage. You have to pay your dues one way or another, and it was my job to try bring out of you the officer that you are now. Really, you earned this."

She turned red and giggled as she took the marks of rank and went her way. Luna met up with her once they were apart from the crowd and asked Usagi, "So, somehow your survived! How did you do that?"

Luna started to pace a bit as she was pondering this, voicing, "I mean, knowing you and your study habits, and wanting to avoid hard and difficult things, I figured you…hey…OWOWOWOWOWOW!"

Usagi had taken a hold of her ear and said, "That's quite enough from you. That was the old Usagi. The turned me into a new Usagi."

"Really," teased Luna, "We'll just have to see about that!"

After some schmoozing, Ravalli managed to gather the scouts, and he said, "Ladies, now that you are done with all this, you shall have a couple of days to get things in order, and then you are going out. We have to put together a plan and go after what we suspect to be the central island in the whole thing."

"Aww," moaned Usagi, to which Luna muttered, "New my eye."

"Sorry, but your unique skills are needed," answered Ravalli, "Get your day in with your loved ones, then we spend a day getting ready, and then we execute the mission. More islands are springing up as we speak, and we cannot waste time. I understand an invasion was mentioned. Well, we must then stop the whole thing as quickly as possible. We cannot mess around with this!"

He then noticed Stoner nearby and said, "…and since he knows what's going on, having someone there who knows about this, and how to use naval things to get the job done, he's going with you."

They all, including Stoner looked at him oddly. "Sir, you must realize that they have all the powers and I'm just…"

"You know the girls and how to use them," answered Ravalli, "If you mix that in with all the things you have taught recruits, there should be no controversy. You have a month between cycles, though I do know you take some leave in that time. Believe me, you shall get that leave, but I need you for this."

"But, sir…" Stoner began to protest, but Ravalli then said, "That's an order, sergeant! Besides, since when does a Marine back down from a challenge?"

He stood to attention, and snapped, "Never, sir!"

"Good," answered Ravalli, "Get ready to go. Tomorrow, you leave for Tokyo with them. We shall fill you in on the way."

Stoner then vacated to his quarters, getting his things together, wondering just how deep into it he had gotten.

5


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

On the main island in the Caribbean, the alien visitor was not at all happy that one of her islands had been ripped from her. From all that her senses told her, a great power had liberated them, and greater than anything this puny planet should have had to offer her. However, looking at her minions, she realized that she would have to ramp things up. The best of them were being kept well, while the rest had barely any energy to act. She insured that they would not die, but that they would only have enough strength to do her bidding. Besides all that, the false state of bliss they were in would not at all let them realize the danger they were all truly in. At this she thought, "_Fight me all you want, strange invaders! I, Sirena, shall find out who you all are, and stop you!_"

She knew that people were avoiding her islands now, aware of the danger. Thus, she knew what she would have to do is to start planting her minions on the continents and repeating the process there. This was normally later on as she was preparing the planet for full-scale invasion, but now it could not admit delay. With this, she had a few with some strength go back to one of the ships and come back with some maps and charts so she could go over them and figure out where the best place to start would be.

After some time, the minions returned with what she requested, and she started to go over it. Considering that the only ones that had been able to shut down one of her operations seemed to be of limited size, (as psychic connection with that island indicated a small force before it was cut off,) therefore, they could not strike all places at once. Her eventual plan was to strike as many populous areas as she could so that there was no way they could all be stopped at once. With entire cities under her control, she could build a fast army, more singers, and spread things as if it was influenza across this planet. As she pondered, she thought, "_Come to me, you little Cretans! You cannot stop it all at once!_"

The next day, the girls, Tom, and Stoner were all packed and ready to go. All their possessions were in two sea bags each, as it was for Stoner, and they all headed for the airport for the 15-hour flight to Japan. However, for Usagi to see Stoner in civilian clothes was odd for her. In fact, she did not recognize him at first. Upon his approach, she said, "Can I help you, sir?"

He cocked his head at her, and he laughed. He then, just to rattle her, took on his drill instructor voice for a brief moment and said, "Is that how you talk to me?"

She stood at attention, shouted, "NO SIR!" and he then began to laugh. She suddenly realized who it was, and she said, "Sergeant Stoner?"

"In the flesh!" he answered with a smile.

"You seem so…well…different," she muttered.

"One, you haven't seen me in civvies before," he answered, "and two, since I am not an instructor at this time, well, I don't have to act like what you saw. That was all for the sake of training…nothing more."

She giggled and said, "Oh…okay!"

"Hey," he said, "I'm pretty laid back when it comes to things, ma'am."

"Wait," responded Usagi, who then asked, "Why did you call me 'ma'am'?"

"Just because we are not in uniform does not mean we forget our military bearing," he answered plainly, but instructively, "I'm traveling with nine officers…well…ten if you count the lieutenant, here."

"Oorah," responded Tom, quietly, and Stoner then said, "Despite the fact that we will be working together, I still have to remember my place."

"I'm still not used to that, after all that time," pondered Usagi aloud.

"You will," Tom interjected, "Just give it time.

Stoner then looked at Tom and said, "Hey, I saw that Medal of Honor on your uniform at the graduation, and I am just dying to know how you got that."

"Well, we have 15 hours, sergeant," answered Tom, "Get ready for a story!"

When they got to the airport, they found it odd that the jet they would be using had so few people around come boarding time. When the call came for boarding, they were surprised to see that only they would be using the jet, and that was just as Admiral Ravalli arrived. He showed his ticket, and, once on board, he said, "This was special chartered for only us. We're all up in the first-class deck of this 747. All the attendants are sworn to secrecy, so, if you all need to talk scout stuff, you can be free to do so. You're going to be made as comfortable as you can be made. After all, you deserve some nice treatment after what you were put through, and I still question that senator for doing this to you. After all that, we do owe you, and not just for suffering the training. Sergeant Stoner, you should feel lucky right now. You are now associated with the most powerful sailors on the face of the earth, and you are gaining all the bennies that go with it…congratulations."

"Thank you, sir," he said, still remembering his decorum, "It's just an honor to serve."

Ravalli smirked as if to say, "Don't give me that! You're enjoying every minute of this!"

Throughout the flight, Stoner was being familiarized with everyone on the team and his or her true backgrounds. He was shocked to learn Hotaru's true age, and he said, "Had I found out the truth, I might have had you brought up on charges. It's a good thing I never did! How did you make it like that so well?"

"I…have my ways," she said in her normal, subtle way. Stoner then looked at them and said, "I can say, even the English of all of you has gotten so much better. What did I tell you about inundation?"

They all laughed, remembering the first day that they had met him in the mess deck, not yet realizing he was to be their senior drill instructor. He even said, "Some of you have even mastered dental fricatives. I know that is hard for people with native tongues that do not have that."

They all thanked him for what they considered gracious compliments, and the banter continued as they began to share how they came together and the foes they had fought. They even included how they got some of the awards they now possessed. Stoner then said, "Why didn't you wear your ribbons on your dress whites?"

Ravalli chimed in and said, "We could not let on that they were more than normal recruits. They only went through this so they could get the command experience, and to satisfy some nut ball politician that they were truly United States Navy. In fact, by this point, their Official Military Personnel files they had while in training have been destroyed, and new ones in their scout guises have been made, but with all of what they did when they were in training with you, yet with different dates. Because of the danger their loved ones would be in if anyone found out who they truly were, we have to keep who they really are from leaking out."

Stoner nodded and understood this, knowing that, if the identity of some Navy SEALs were known, the same danger could await their families as well, considering some of their missions. He now also understood why they were now a part of the whole thing, because of the threat that came at them. The Sailor Scouts would have been the only ones with the expertise to handle the monsters that appeared in the Philippines. Not even the SEALs could have handled that on their own. Finally, the girls picked Stoner's mind and tried to find out all they could about him. They were surprised to find out that he was only in his mid-twenties, but because he was so squared away, he advanced in rank quickly, and he was able to nab that assignment. One thing that could not help be noticed was that, as the flight went on, Minako and Stoner were beginning to get a bit more friendly. However, Stoner caught himself and started to remember his decorum, but Ravalli knew that they were not ordinary sailors, either. In fact, as far as he was concerned, they were only Navy enough for him to command on special missions, but, at the same time, not all the rules applied to them. While the girls began to eat, he said, "Stoner, may I have a word with you?"

He nodded, and Ravalli bid him to go down to the coach level for a word.

Once there, he said, "I noticed you're taking a liking to Miss Aino."

"Well, she is pretty," he said, "She's not a kid anymore, and, well, once she mentioned her status as a pop star with Lieutenant and Mrs. Reichmann, well, I wonder why I didn't recognize them before. Still, she is a Navy officer, and…"

Ravalli put up a hand and said, "Stoner, you do realize they are Navy, but not Navy, right?"

Stoner looked askance at this and Ravalli then said, "Son, the only reason why they are even connected to us is because of the help they gave us. We did that so that, if they needed to help again, they could do so without any kinds of issues with politicians and red tape. However, they are technically their own thing, and so, well, if you really wanted to pursue her, there would be nothing stopping you. Their ranks are all honorary at this time anyway, because they are indeed higher than the rank of ensign. They only count when they are actually attached to some kind of team when they act for Uncle Sam. They also protect Japan independently against the kinds of threats we now see hitting the world at present, the ones you saw first hand. Therefore, son, if you want to pursue it…"

Stoner said nothing, not sure what to say. He was still a bachelor, and he was a bit lonely, but looking at her fame, he wondered if he had a chance. Ravalli then said, "Just take it slow, son. Get to know how they work together and see where it goes."

Stoner nodded and relaxed more, knowing that his hesitance was good, but, he was also relieved to know that, if something came of this, there would be nothing to stop it. They went back upstairs and continued their fellowship.

By the time they got home, they were clearly hit by jet lag, but clearly glad to be back. Ravalli, Stoner, Makoto and Tom, all went to the installation as they all lived there in the housing provided. Ravalli took Stoner to the place where he could set up his housekeeping while Tom and Makoto went home, got some rest, and then spent some time really getting reacquainted. Ami came back and returned to her internship, but people noticed that she seemed to have more energy, and she seemed to hold herself differently. She was as organized as she had always been, yet now she seemed to do everything in the most expedient and simple ways possible. People wondered just what she had been doing during her time away. Rei returned to the temple, and instantly everything around there changed. Suddenly, everything around was a bit more organized, neater constantly, and even Yuichiro was shocked at her efficiency. However, she seemed to be more bossy than usual, in that, she seemed to act a touch like a drill instructor and caused Yuichiro to tow the line a whole lot more, which actually made her seem a bit more attractive. Minako returned to the mansion she had bought with the money from the records she was making with the other two. Her servants greeted her warmly, and even commented on her new fitness she had gained, (as did the others with all the physical training and swimming they had been doing.) Once they took her things, they offered her many things, but she said she would partake later, and she wanted to rest after the long plane ride. They then set them aside for her as she went to her room. Once there, Artemis spotted her and leaped into her arms, glad to see her again. He missed her so, and purred contently in her arms.

The outer scouts returned to their home and did not waste time in getting back in the groove of their lives they had set aside. However, Usagi took the cake. When she got home, Mamoru's eyes nearly fell out of his head. She was slimmer than she had been in a bit, and quite attractive, and more so since she had left. His missing her aided in this, and they quickly became romantic. Luna was glad to see her as well, but as the pair embraced and seemed to look like they were trying to become one entity, she now felt like a piece of the furniture. She wanted to greet Usagi as well, but she started to feel ignored. She then jumped down from the table where she sat and started to rub herself against their legs and meow a bit. However, Usagi seemed annoyed at that intrusion and muttered, "Go tell Artemis he wants you."

She was annoyed, snuffed, and headed out of the house, going straight to Minako's mansion as the pair began to act as if they were on their honeymoon again. Once at the mansion, she made her way towards where the mansion was and, once there, went to where the window of Minako's bedroom sat and climbed up the ivy that led to the top. Once there, there was a decent ledge upon which to rest and she looked in to see both Minako and Artemis napping, with Artemis curled up on Minako's belly. She just decided to curl up there and wait for them to finish their nap.

As the sun was just setting, they had awakened, and Minako spotted Luna on the ledge, which was often the spot where she came to visit Artemis. She quickly opened the window and let her in. "Luna, I'm surprised to see you here! I figured that you would want to catch up with Usagi."

She grumbled as she said, "She told me to shoo, essentially."

"Really?" she asked, "What brought that on?"

"She and Mamoru started to get friendly," she said, a touch saddened.

"Well, I am sure you would understand if you and Artemis had been separated for a time."

"Yet, she was so rude about it!"

"Really?" she said as she pondered, "Then perhaps, tomorrow morning, we can get her attention."

A smirk grew on Minako's face and Luna was curious as to what was on Minako's mind. Minako then said, "I had planned to sleep in tomorrow morning, but I think it can wait! I have a plan for paybacks!"

Luna now grinned and said, "What devilish thing do you have in mind?"

"Have you ever heard of Pavlov?" asked Minako.

It was before sunrise, and both Mamoru and Usagi were exhausted from their night of intimacy. Indeed, they had drank their fill of love that night, and were worn out. However, outside their door was Minako, Artemis, and Luna. Minako tested the door, and was happy to see that, in their haste, they had forgotten to lock it. She snuck in, put the box near the area of the apartment that held their bed and whispered to Luna, "Okay, go ahead and hit play!"

The other two went back behind a small wall that partially separated the bed from the rest of the place and stuck their heads around to watch. What Minako had put in was the bugle call of "reveille." Luna cranked the volume and hit play. She shot out of the bed in an instant, and within a few moments of time, had on some workout clothes, had all their clothes in the laundry basket, and the bed made…with Mamoru still in it! She then stood at attention as if to await inspection, and then, after about ten seconds, suddenly remembered she was back home. Now she became enraged and started to look around for who had done it, but Minako had already extracted herself with Artemis and they had to wait until they were on the elevator before they broke down in hysterics. All she saw was Luna sitting there as she said, "Whatever is the problem, Usagi?"

However, raspy breathing could be heard, and she turned around to see Mamoru turning blue as he lay in the bed, wheezing out, "Um…Usagi…please get me out of this!"

She immediately ran over to set him free.

Sirena looked at the map, and for some reason, she began to feel that the one that looked like a sea horse seemed to be the best target. She then found one that seemed best for the task and set it up that she go immediately. Energy surrounded her minion and she shot off like a shooting star and headed as a bolt of energy to her target. Within seconds, she landed in the countryside outside of Osaka, Japan, and once there, she started her song. Local farmers in the area as well as the people in the small farming town suddenly stopped what they were doing and began to focus in on the beautiful music. They began to become more lethargic and began to sway to the song. Before long, everyone—men, women, and children—began to drop whatever they were doing and began to head out into the woods that lay near the farmland and headed to the singing. Soon after, everyone in the area was now in the woods, seated and swaying back and forth to the newcomer singing her seductive song. After that, there were some buildings that caught fire and burned out of control because of some cooking food at the time and leaving things unattended that could then catch fire in time. The other reason was that even the local fire brigade was in the woods with everyone else. Indeed, Sirena began to smile where she was, considering that her plans would soon go into effect, and this land would be a good test to see if she could go full scale. Once she had the world subdued, she would call for her brothers and sisters for a full invasion and occupation. This world would soon be theirs.

4


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Once it became clear that all contact with that small town had been lost by Osaka, a detachment was sent to see what the problem was. When they did not return, and alert went out to Tokyo, and stating that it seemed the same phenomenon that had been taking place on the islands was now taking place in a wooded area by a village not far from Osaka. Once the phenomenon was mentioned, it was plastered all over the news cycle on TV and all the message boards scattered throughout Tokyo. Essentially, it was an interesting attempt to get the attention of the Sailor Scouts, and in fact, they were watching. Rei sent a message to all the scouts to meet at the temple, and she said for Tom to get Stoner. Once he was alerted, he shot though the housing area and found Stoner just putting away his mower when he spotted Tom and gave him an odd look. Tom just told him, "Red alert, sergeant…time for action!"

That was all he needed to hear. He charged back in and quickly put on his battle gear and grabbed the M-4 that he was given special permission to have in his house. He would not be permitted this luxury otherwise, and would have been in serious trouble had not provision been made. If the situation arose, he had to be ready as if he was a Minuteman. Within ten minutes, he was at Tom's place, who already had the car revved up and ready to go.

Within a half hour, everyone was at the temple. Considering the danger, and considering they were in their official capacity of protecting Japan anyway, they did not wait for the call to act. They were there and ready for action, already transformed into their hero guises. They were now watching the news again, and the news was saying that another group went in, but with earplugs this time, and sent back images of what was happening. For the Sailor Scouts, it was all too familiar: the glow in the forest, the frolicking people, and the sense of an attraction to something. However, the film was only about 30 seconds long, as the camera suddenly went out of focus and seemed to be flailing around in all directions. After about ten seconds of struggle, the camera hit the ground on its side, and it was able to catch a fleeting image of some of those people subduing those that had come in with earplugs and then removing them. Quickly, the second investigative crew stopped their fighting and began to join in with the swaying as they were drawn deeper into the forest and disappear into the light.

The eleven there, (including Tuxedo Mask and Stoner,) stared in silence, and Pluto then said, "It is clear that, if we go in as we had before, what happened to them will happen to us again."

"But, Uranus seemed to be immune," said Jupiter, "How did that happen?"

"We still do not know," answered Pluto, "I am not sure it is due to her sharp mental discipline or what not, but it is what it is."

"Mental discipline," muttered Mars, "I wonder…"

"Have an idea?" asked Neptune.

"It may take a bit of time, but what if we used a bit of self-hypnosis, but with a touch of guidance?" responded Mars.

When the others looked oddly at her, Mars said, "I don't know how sharp Moon would be to keep her mind focused, but if we did some meditation, and had Uranus speak to our open subconscious state, she could override what the enemy tries to do and be immune ourselves."

"What do you mean…lack of concentration!" snapped Moon, "I'll have you know if it weren't for such concentration; I would have flunked those classes!"

"That," added Stoner, "And me having you in the front leaning rest for most of that so you would stay awake."

Mask chuckled and said, "Some things never change!"

She puffed out her cheeks, turned red, and started beating with non-effective blows on his back demanding he took that back. He then said, "And I thought they would have taught you about fighting at the academy."

She then stopped, remembered something, and then, with lightning fast reflexes they had not seen her display before, she quickly shoved Mask's chest and swept his leg at the same time. He barely had time to yelp before he was tail over head into the bushes. After a moment of silence at the surprise of the move, everyone busted up in laughter as Stoner said, "Well, I guess you really did pay attention in MACMAP class!"

As Mask extracted himself, not sure what had just hit him, she smirked and stood over him, saying, "Next time, I demonstrate the proper use of the rear naked choke!"

For about a quarter second, he was angry, but then began to laugh at his beloved, saying, "Dumpling Head, don't you ever change!"

"Dumpling…" said Stoner, and then cutting himself off, "I called her Buns Head…are you telling me…"

"That will be quite enough, sergeant!" snapped Moon with a smug look on her face, and he just laughed and said, "Okay, I surrender!"

Before long, they were all sitting in the Lotus position and doing all they could to clear their minds. Uranus then began her mantra on them. As she went, she told them that they were strong, wise, brave, and unbending. She built up their morale as best she could and then started to tell them that the song meant nothing. They would not hear it. It would be as if they heard a refrigerator running in the background. It would have no effect. However, what was not noticed was Moon occasionally opening an eye here or there as some bird or sound caught her attention. Unfortunately, this always happened when Uranus' back was turned. Once this was done, they then wondered how they were going to get there. Mars then said, "The temple van is in back. We should be okay."

"Fine," said Venus, "But I do think we should let Mercury drive. I mean, the way you drive sometimes…"

"I am perfectly safe!" she snapped back, "What could possibly happen?"

Mars sat there red-faced as they sat on the breakdown lane and the police officer was preparing to approach. "Perfectly safe, she says," grumbled Moon, "What could possibly happen? You know, the numbers on the sign mean speed limit, not speed suggestion!"

"Shut…up!" she just grumbled through her teeth.

The officer began to approach and then said, "Okay, Mario Andretti, I'm going to have to see your pilot's license."

However, he stopped when he looked in the van and saw who was in there, and started to sputter, "Oh…it's the Sailor Scouts! Wow…I never thought that I would get to see them in person in my life! This is amazing!"

He then spotted Stoner and the M-4, dressed to kill, (as the Marines would call being fully geared up for the battle,) and he said, "Hey, wait, what is he all about?"

"Special assistant," said Ceres, "He's with us, and it's okay."

"He may be, but that rifle…" the officer started to say, but Ceres said, "…is perfectly acceptable. He's a Marine on assignment with us, and he does not have special gifts as we. What's he going to do when we get to Osaka: throw rocks at them?"

"Osaka?" he responded upon hearing that, "Are you going to deal with that! Oh, my…and I stopped you! Sorry…look: just let me get ahead of you and I'll get you there in the blink of an eye!"

He ran back to the car and got in front of them. Mars said, "About time!" and started to pull out behind him. With that, they were off as fast as the van could handle without internally hemorrhaging.

They skirted the edges of Osaka to try to get to the scene sooner. However, it began to dawn on them that the police officer was not prepared, and it was just when they were in the radius of control that the singer had they realized this. This was quickly confirmed as his car pulled off to the side, parked, got out of the car, and now he too was frolicking through the fields. Considering they were immune for the time being, Mars pressed on, hoping to get as close to the source as she could. Yet, what no one else seemed to see was Moon with a contented smile on her face, slowly swaying back and forth to a tune only she could hear. Those who caught a glimpse only wrote it off to her seemingly constant state of happiness when there was not something annoying her, and thought nothing of it. They soon entered the town, and they had to slow and be careful considering the amount of obstacles left in the road—cars, bikes, toys, wagons, and the like—abandoned by their owners once they answered the siren song. By this point, everything that had been in the radius of what could have burned was already burning itself out, leaving half the town devastated. Mars finally had to give up and park, saying, "We'll have to go on foot from here."

Acknowledging this, Saturn opened up the door, and almost immediately, Moon was out faster than a roadrunner, frolicking, and saying in a sing-song fashion, "Oh, what pretty singing!"

She then headed off to the woods, and everyone was both shocked and angered. Mars looked at Uranus and asked, "Didn't you see her straying off?"

"I…I don't know how I missed that!" she said, more angry with herself for not noticing than she was at Mars' sharp rebuke. She then said, "I mean, I thought I saw something, but I just gave her the benefit of the doubt."

"Never give that girl the benefit of anything," grumbled Mars, "There's no one on Earth that can figure out that girl's mind, not even her husband!"

Everyone looked at Mask, and all he could just do was shrug and to grin sheepishly. Seeing Moon now getting out of their reach, they all piled out and went after her.

Once in the forest, the scene was a familiar one, though no one was emaciated yet, as this was still a recent phenomenon. However, once in the perimeter of control, the singer realized there were intruders that were not taken with the song. The singer sang louder, but it had no effect, so he decided to use what was around. Suddenly, those that were around them heard, "_Oh, my sweet children…there are those now among you that have not learned our pretty song. Please bring them to me that they may have joy also._"

They then all stopped, turned to face them, (Moon included,) and all started to approach them. Stoner began to level his weapon when Pluto called out, "NO! They are only casualties of the situation! They cannot help themselves!"

He cursed through his teeth, slinging it cross-body, and then taking them on by hand, trying his best to use only subduing moves to keep them off. Mercury then focused and motioned with her hands as she declared, "BUBBLE SPRAY!"

That stopped then dead in their tracks, and now they flailed around, looking for their targets, yet Moon was right in front of Mars' face, trying to grab her. Mars did only what she could and slapped her real hard. That brought her around, and she suddenly started to bawl, screaming, "BWAAAA! YOU HIT ME, YOU BIG MEANIE!"

Stoner was stunned. After four months of officer school and seeming maturing, she could still revert to that! He did only what HE knew to do, and went into drill instructor mode, getting into her face and shouting, "GET YOUR HEAD SCREWED ON STRAIGHT, SAILOR! HELL IS BREAKING LOOSE AROUND US AND YOU ARE ACTING LIKE A CHILD. SUCK IT UP AND DRIVE ON, OR YOU ARE GOING TO BE IN THE FRONT LEANING REST FOR THE REST OF YOUR MISERABLE EXISTENCE!"

"AYE, AYE SIR!" she shouted, snapping to attention and snapping out of it. He then said, "You shall not…SHALL NOT…pay anymore attention to that singing, or else I shall make all eternity LIVING HELL! DO YOU HAVE THAT?"

"AYE SIR!" she shouted again, and seemed no longer to be affected. Venus asked, "How did you do that?"

"Fear is one whale of a motivator!" he said with a wink. However, the yelling was attracting people towards them, and they headed out.

They managed to clear the spray, and then the other problem hit. What were once small birds and forest creatures were enormous now, and they were now looking to attack. Moon started to react and say, "Oh, what an adorable chipmunk," but quickly leaped behind Mask when it roared and showed huge and ugly yellow teeth. Stoner said, "Now I can act!" whipping around his rifle. He fired two quick bursts and the creatures closest to them dropped. He then quickly dropped a crow that was about the size of a condor now, and put it down. The other scouts took the hint and started to clear things out. Jupiter then said, "Cut a path to where the glow is brightest! That has to be the source!"

They nodded and Saturn whispered, "Silent wall," aiming her glaive in that direction, letting loose with her attack. It cut a clear path to where they needed to go, and they charged in, only to get jumped from either side by some of the larger and fitter elements, namely the police and fire brigades, as well as military people that had gone in to investigate. Stoner was the last to be subdued, but the mass amounts of people were too much for him, and he was soon taken and dragged in. They were afraid to use their attack for fear of harming those of who had no control over what they were doing. All that could be said was said by Neptune, who uttered, "Here we go again."

They were then taken before the singer, and he said, seemingly sincere in disappointment, "What is wrong, dear children? Was not the singing to your liking? Perhaps I could sing you something different. You should have peace as all the others have."

He started to sing something new, and everyone else started to sway, save for the Scouts and Stoner, though Moon was finding it harder and harder to resist. That was when they were surprised by a new wrinkle to things. Out of nowhere came about six people who took advantage of the distraction and pounced on the singer. One gagged him while the others quickly followed up by bundling him up in a blanket. The sudden break in control left their foes stunned and they loosed their grip on the Scouts. They only stood surprised for a moment at the sudden change of fate, and Uranus called out, "Sailor Moon…NOW!"

She snapped herself out of it, regained her scepter, and called out, "DEEP UMBRA CLEANSING!"

She held it high in the air and the bright white light spread every direction, glowing brighter and brighter until it pulsed and spread around as if it had been an explosion, yet nothing was damaged. Everyone around came to their senses, blinking and wondering what had come over them, and why they were all in various states of dress with flowers in their hair. What was of more interest was the six that did not seem to be affected by things. That caught Mercury's attention. As the first responders and military were both thanking the Scouts and helping to get control on the situation, Mercury was talking to the six and asked, "How was it that you were able to resist?"

"It was strange," one girl said, "Everyone around me seemed to be affected but me. Once everyone left, we all soon ran into each other, and we all wondered what was going on. The fires were too much for us to handle, so we went into the woods as well, and we figured that we might be safe there, but then we had to constantly hide from both the people and the monstrous animals. When you showed up, we knew we had a chance, but when they caught you, we were not sure what was going to happen. Yet, when he was distracted with you, we took a chance to subdue him."

Mercury thought for a moment, and then she said, "Would it be too much to ask to get a strand of hair from each one of you? I have a hypothesis on this, and I need to find out if it is correct."

They shrugged and agreed to this. They all gave her a sample, and each one she marked and put into a small envelope and stuffed into her gear.

By this point, Pluto was asking the mayor if there was anything further they could do, but he told them it was going to be okay. He told her help was coming from Osaka soon, and they could take it from there, giving shelter to those who had lost their homes in the tragedy. The Scouts went back to the van, and there was discussion as to how there were some that were like Uranus, who had the ability to resist the song. Mercury then said, "I have a hypothesis, but I need a sample of your hair, Uranus."

"Why do you need that," she asked inquisitively.

"I am wondering if it could be something genetic," answered Mercury, "It's kind of like how some people have dominate and recessive traits: like how some have a widow's cleft in their hair and some don't, or some have a bend in their pinkies and some don't."

"That seems to make sense," answered Neptune, "But, what does knowing that do for us?"

"Just a hunch," responded Mercury, "But I have to find out first if what I suspect is correct."

With that, Uranus allowed Mercury to snip about an inch of a hair off her, marked it also, and put it into the envelope with the others. If she was correct, she may have discovered a means to combat what was happening.

Sirena was furious, and her song was reflecting that, as those around her were feeling pain in conjunction with her anger. She had not established that thing for long, and it was soon ripped from her. She was not sure what to do now, as the invasion depended on her gaining control of that planet. She pondered going full scale right away, but she knew she did not have enough to overwhelm whatever it was that was stopping her. She would lay low for a bit, not call for new islands or attacks right away, and figure out what to do next. She was not going to be stopped by some primitive planet in the sticks of the galaxy. It was now or never.

5


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Sirena began to review what she had seen in her head. She realized that this was the same group she encountered twice before, took an island from her, (which, incidentally, disintegrated after it was abandoned,) and now they suddenly show up halfway across the planet. Because it was the same group, she wondered if this was all they had to offer on this world. Yet, because they had some kind of reach, she had to reconsider. However, it was the girl with the balls on her head that caught her interest. She seemed to be susceptible to mental control, showing a weak mind. One of the males with the group merely raised his voice harshly, and suddenly, the song seemed to have no effect. This could be used. All she had to do is put something against them so great that they would have no choice but to go for the main island. Once she let some time pass, she would go full scale, (or as much as she could with what she had.) They could not address all that at one time. There seemed to be some in the group wise enough to understand that one goes for the head of the beast if something like that happens, so she would take the chance that such an attack would draw them in. She just needed the right time for it.

After helping people get home, the locals and the local charities took over and sought to aid those that had lost their homes in the fires, the Scouts made their way back. The Scouts, once back in the van and out of sight of the others, they changed back to normal and began to talk. Usagi asked, "So, what's with all the hair business, Ami?"

"I have a suspicion about something," she said, "Like I said, I am going to test the genetics against my own hair and see if there is something to that. If that is the case, there may be a way to counter what is happening…make some kind of a drug or something that would temporarily counter the effect. It's just a guess, but I think there is something to it."

They all nodded at this and then settled into the ride. Small talk soon cropped up, Tom and Makoto snuggled, as did Usagi and Mamoru, and Stoner and Minako stated to make some talk themselves. Stoner then said, "So, what do you do for fun? I mean, you're a superstar in music now, and, well…I always wondered."

"Well, get-togethers are the same as they were before, just on a grander scale."

"Yeah, and we get to meet all kinds of neat people!" interjected Usagi, "It's so neat having famous friends!"

They all laughed at Usagi's candor, and Minako said, "Well, tomorrow night, the three of us have a concert. Everyone has backstage passes, and I think I can get one for you."

He smiled and said, "That would be nice. So, are you just going to chill after this?"

It could not be helped but be noticed that the pair was getting chummy, and the atmosphere was lending to this. Although Stoner was in his late 20s, and Minako was just now 19, they were both starting to act like shy 12-year olds as their conversation began to become halted. To get them to loosen up, Ami asked, "So, what made you want to be a Marine?"

That snapped Stoner around and said, "Well, I just wanted to serve, and I wanted to be a part of the best, so, to me, the Marines were the best choice. How was it for you, Tom?"

"Oh, it was simple," he said, "Family tradition."

"That's one I normally got while being a drill instructor," he answered, to which Minako asked, "So, what made you want to do that?"

"Well, I watched how my life changed for the better in boot camp, and I just wanted to return that to someone else," he answered, "It is such an uplifting thing to watch some kid who, though he has a high school education, yet came from a background where there was not much else for opportunities, come into the corps and become something greater than what they ever dreamed. It was also neat to give some kid with an attitude who hated everything and everyone get a second chance and learn how to be a man for the first time in his life."

"That kind of was the reason I went into teaching," responded Setsuna.

"Well, I am sure you do a great job," said Stoner, "But often, I got kids were the system failed them. The whole task is to break down that negative attitude and reshape it into a military mindset. Marines often see some kind of action twice a year, being the Untied State's first responders, so, we have to drill it into them that that this is serious business. It's what I did to you guys to some extent: get you able to respond under stress, make those hard decisions, and they can come home alive."

"So, you've done raw recruits and officers in training?" asked Minako, who was now starting to stare at him a bit more.

"Yes, and both are kind of the same, but you go at it from different angles," he answered.

"I just figured that one would rise to the occasion," said Haruka.

Stoner laughed and said, "I think I mentioned this before, but just for the sake of it, I'll mention it again. That is what everyone thinks, but you never do. In fact, you always drop to the lowest level of your training. If you have not been train to make training based decisions under that kind of stress, you will go to a state of panic. If you have not been brought to your lowest state, you will never know just how much you can do in that situation, because, when you finally do hit that bottom, and can make those decisions, instead of crumbling, you will say, 'There's nowhere else to go, but up.'"

They all looked at each other, and Usagi said, "I don't know how I ever made it! You can't think everyone does."

Stoner nodded and said, "Well, you remember those that dropped out or were dropped on request? That was about 25% of the class. It's the same in standard boot camp for the Marines…one in four drops out. The weak sisters have to be weeded out. Otherwise, in that situation, they could get many killed with them as they get lost in the fog of war."

They all began to nod as it all made sense. Rei said, "I figured it was a mind game! Just learn the game and you make it."

"If only more figured that out," said Stoner, "Yet, I knew that I wouldn't loose any of you."

They all then stared at him, and he said, "I know leadership when I see it. Even then, when it seemed like…"

He paused, and tried to get her name right, not wanting to use her old nickname, considering they were peers now, in a sense, "Miss Tsu…kin…o, or, well, Mrs. Chiba, now that I know…anyway…even when it seemed like she was the weak link, there was something about her. She's not as simple-minded as some may think, and I think a number of your foes must have found that out."

"When she's not freaking out," snipped Rei, which brought a snicker from Haruka. However, Stoner just looked matter-of-factly at them and said, "I haven't seen that since Quantico."

Now the laughing stopped, and he added, "I think that, in those stressful situations…well, she showed signs of that during training…that she became focused when the chips were down. Again, this is how I knew that all of you had already had first hand training in everything I've said so far by how you handled yourselves, and knowing the truth now, this has been confirmed. I think it will be that way more now. Don't expect instinct to cause her to panic now, but to act in the way she's been trained. In fact, I think that all of you will be even better now that you went through that. You may turn your noses up at what that senator wanted, but I guarantee you: it was probably the best thing for all of you."

Everyone was now silent, pondering what they heard, and that did it for Minako. She said, "I'm taking you to dinner tonight."

That caught him by surprise, and he said, "Well, okay, but what brought that on?"

"I just have to hear more of this," she said, and then said with mock authority, "Got a problem with that, Marine?"

He laughed and said, "No, ma'am!"

She said, "I'll be by at 1900 hours! Be ready!"

He saluted, and then they both began to laugh as they then began to chat. Everyone else did with one conversation or another, but Usagi was loving it. Finally, maybe, her friend would find someone, and put an end to the silly notion she had that she was cursed never to have anyone. She only hoped that Artemis would not get jealous. He had Luna, but for some reason, he felt some closeness to her in the same way Luna did to the astronomer she had something for in that short stint of time she knew him. She just wanted the best for her friend.

Later that night, Artemis was anxious to hear about the adventure, and Minako was more than willing to tell it. Yet, she was also moving between her room and the bathroom in a zigzag pattern, changing her mind here and there about make-up and hairstyles, going through about seven or eight dresses before she finally settled on a sleeveless golden gown with plenty of petticoats. Artemis then said, "Wow! What's the occasion?"

"I have a date!" she said as if she was an excited little girl in a toy/candy shop, first time experiencing either one, and told all she wanted was free. However, Artemis shuddered and said, "Um…with whom?"

"Um…you know, after all that time, I don't recall him ever giving us his first name," she said, pondering, "You know, I think I remember one cadet asking him, and he just thundered, 'TO YOU, MY FIRST NAME IS SERGEANT!'"

"Oh no…you don't mean," he said, starting to pout.

"Yes," she said, "And he's really nice. He has a great personality, a leader, and actually kind when he wants to be…"

She was getting a dreamy look in her eye, and Artemis began to pout. Minako came out of it, noticed that, and smirked as she said, "Artemis, are you jealous?"

Red began to show through the fur, and he stuttered and muttered as he said, "Well, um…of course not…I mean…well…you are a human…I guess I always knew…but I always thought…but I guess…but you said you didn't want to…"

"Maybe this is the one," she said, and then said, "Artemis, what's wrong?"

He looked sad as he said, "It always upset me that I could never give you what you have always needed…considering…"

She scooped him up and gave him a hug, saying, "Oh, Artemis…never think that I would stop loving you."

She then looked at him and said, "Besides, what about you and Luna?"

He sighed and realized he was being silly. He then said, "Touché…" and then sighed, saying, "Well, if I can have Luna, I should let you have what you seek."

She kissed Artemis' head and said, "That's my handsome kitty!"

Stoner stood in front of his house, wearing his dress blues, waiting anxiously. Some of those people that had come to know him by this point were all curious as to the reason for being so formal. He explained it was a date, and they were about to ask who it was until a limo pulled up and a chauffeur came out and opened the door for him. They were all stunned to see Minako Aino inside. They were all congratulating him and patting him on the back, implying more than was the truth. He just laughed it off and got in. Once he did, his eyes almost fell out of his head. Sure, she still had that red bow in her hair, but it seemed to be something that, if she didn't have it, he might not have recognized her. Yet, he never thought she would look that good. Minako turned red a touch, touched that he was staring at her, meaning that he indeed approved of how she looked, and said, gently, "Welcome."

He smiled and took a seat beside her as they held each other's hands. She then said, as the pulled away, "This is going to seem so silly, but, what is your first name?"

He laughed, realizing that, after all this time, he had never given it. He said, "Fredric…Fredric Stoner."

They were taken to an exclusive five-star restaurant that specialized in Japanese cooking, and indeed, there was a line out front, with a maitre de outside directing things. "This is no mess deck, that's for sure," said Stoner.

"It is not easy to get in," she said, "But a level of celebrity helps."

The chauffeur came around and opened the door, and some of the paparazzi that hung around, hoping that someone of importance would show, spotted her, and whipped out their cameras as if they were Old West gunslingers. The area was quickly alight with flashbulbs and questions, especially about her escort that night. Stoner was a bit taken back by this, but Minako took it in stride and just smiled and waved. She then said, "I'm out on a date. Cannot a girl go on a date if she wants to without suspicion?"

A completely new battery of questions followed this: who was he; what was his name; why was her date a military man and American; how long had they known one another, and so forth. The maitre de, now knowing a pair of the VIPs he had been told about had arrived, then swiftly whisked them away and into the dining room. He apologized profusely for the intrusion, and she said, "It goes with the territory, darling."

As they were seated, Stoner then asked, "How do you deal with that?"

"It was not easy at first," she said, "But I got used to it. In fact, at some point of training, I began to equate the stress to that of what I faced with what was outside."

He laughed and said, "I bet they never screamed at the tops of their lungs and called you everything but a child of God."

Now she laughed at his candor, and then there was that awkward moment where they were not sure what to say, looking into each other's eyes. They were shook out of this as the cook came up to the grill in front of them and started his show. They blinked, smiled, and then paid attention to the cook. The cook then started to show off his skill as he diced and chopped everyone's order in front of them, occasionally flipping a piece of food up from the grill for a guest to catch. However, since they were the only two there, they got this a few times. All the while, the blades buzzed and whirred, the pair said nothing, still holding hands, just enjoying the company of one another.

After the dinner was done, she took him to a spot that had a lounge and dance floor. This, however, was a ritzy affair, so this would be music with which to waltz and two-step. They ordered a couple of cocktails and took the time to dance. As they did, all they could do is stare and smile, their hearts pounding, but neither one wanting to speak for fear of breaking the spell. Eventually, she leaned her head on his chest, eyes closed, and he was surprised at first, but now he was genuinely overjoyed that this was happening. When the dance finished, the lounge lizard spoke and said, "Say, Miss Aino, I know you are here on your private time, but could we call on you to sing us at least one song?"

Gentle applause came from the patrons in the room, and she knew she could not get out of it. She then said, "Okay, but I can't sing anything that is of the group…legal things, you know."

They all chuckled as she came up to the mic, and she remembered something Tom had mentioned about a group from the sixties that had a couple of decent hits who were still Marines when they got their start, and she said to the man, "Do you know _Easier Said Than Done_, by Essex?"

He shrugged, but she gave him enough of the chords to where he could play something for it and she said, "This is to the Devil Dog that is stealing my heart."

This caught him by surprise, not expecting that, and she began to sing. He just sat there and watched in wonder. "_This girl is incredible_!" he thought, while she was pondering something herself.

Katirou Ace had been quite amazing himself, and a hard act to follow for any man. However, that was years ago when she was still very young and just coming of age, trying to sort out her emotions as any girl of twelve is wont to do. She also knew that it was really all just childhood infatuation now, and that, in truth, he had played her like a harp, just using her as he turned out to be the villain all along. It ripped her heart out to have killed him, yet, at the same time; he did deserve it, playing with her heart like that all the time, seeking revenge for her treatment of him in the past life. He seemingly cursed her never to have love in her life, knowing she would always choose duty over love. It seemed that way when she was thirteen and living in England, working for Interpol, thinking she had a chance with Alan, but that was also doomed, her love not being requited, and seeing that his love was for her friend and mentor at the time. It seemed she was now reaping what she had sown, but this was six years extant. There was a chance now where she could combine duty and love, as Tom and Makoto had done, and she was going to do what she could do to defy the seeming fate with which she was cursed. As she pondered it, she was now no longer thinking any fond thoughts of Ace/Danubrite. She then thought, "_Ace, you are wrong! I can have love! Rot in Hell for what you did to me!_" as if to say that Fredric would not do this to her. A Marine has integrity, so she knew that he would be there fore her no matter what if this went any further.

As they went on in the limo, they were just touring Tokyo, and the time for words had passed at last. They were about to kiss, and then Minako hesitated. This caught Stoner off guard and he asked, "What's wrong?"

She just sighed and laughed as she said, "I'm sorry…it's just some foolish thing from my childhood."

"What can that be?" he asked tenderly, cuddling her to him now.

"Some evil person once told me I was never to find love in my life. It was my fate…my destiny."

"Horse hockey!" he snuffed, "We make our own fates. No one decides that for us."

She looked at him hopefully, and she said, "Are you sure? I mean, there is something with karma and me…"

"You're a Buddhist?"

"Well, yes."

"You think you're paying for some sin of the past?"

"I…I guess…"

"Well, are you?"

She thought about it, and she wondered if the whole ordeal in England was indeed the hand of karma playing itself out. Perhaps it was past that time, but then Stoner said, now stroking her hair and undoing the bow, "Well, if this came from the past, and you realize what the wrong was, don't you use this life to make up for that and get it right?"

That never dawned on her. Suddenly, he looked extremely handsome, strong, and a pillar on which she could lean if she needed. She was strong and athletic herself, but now she was a weak mass in his arms…and she felt safe. Her answer to him was one, long, passionate kiss. They were getting closer and closer, almost trying to become one body. The chauffer saw this in the mirror, and then pressed a button as a screen arose to give them some privacy, he knowing the tinted windows and the night would not allow for prying eyes. He decided that a few more laps around Tokyo would be necessary.

At about four in the morning, Minako waltzed in, glowing and part dancing, part walking as she hummed a tune and ascended to her room. Artemis awoke to hear her enter, and noticed how it seemed she was floating about two feet off the ground. She also did not have her ribbon in, but was holding it in her hand. He then began to ask, "Minako…it's four in the morning! Where have you…" but he was cut off as she scooped him up and danced around the room with him for about five minutes, and then flopped back onto the bed with Artemis on her chest. She then kissed his cheek hard and hugged him as she said, "Ace was wrong…there is someone for me!"

Though he was a touch sad to see someone entering into her life that would split her attention from him, at the same time, he was happy to the point of tears that she may just finally have peace over that ordeal. She then set him down and prepared for bed, knowing that something great could now be happening in her life.

5


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Ami went in early that morning and went into the genetics lab, hastily starting her analysis, and pretty much sequestering herself in that corner of the lab for most of the day. She was going over every inch of the cells in the hairs to see if there was something in them. She went to the roots where she found where the living cells had been and went with that. Sample after sample was studied, scrutinized, studied again, and yet, she was lost on what to find. It seemed there was no difference in the DNA. She was about to give up, when, by that noontime, she finally found something in the genome that, had she not taken another look, she would have missed it. She was going off the hunch of something dealing with people who were tone deaf and those with perfect pitch. She saw the area that dealt with sound compensation, and indeed, there was something there. She made a few calls to some universities and a few different labs, to see if there was anything on it. One finally came back and they said they did have some results on a dominant/recessive gene set up on that matter, and they sent her what to look for. Once it came through, she started to compare it, and sure enough, all of those people, including Haruka, were tone deaf. She wondered and thought, "_How can this be? I mean, Haruka enjoys Michiru's music._"

She called back that one lab and asked if someone who was tone deaf had a hard time enjoying music. They told her that they could still, but that recreating the sound would be difficult. They could hear tones, but when it comes to reproducing them, their brains cannot differentiate between one tone and another enough to reproduce it. She thanked them for the information, and that turned out to be a dead end, but she did have something. She started to compare the samples they faxed her to what she had to see if there was something different, and, if it was consistent.

About that time, Tom and Makoto were at the theatre starting sound and mic checks for the concert that night. Since it was a Saturday, he had time off, so he took full advantage of it. The only problem was…where was Minako? They knew she had gone out the night before, but this was not like her. They had been at it for a few hours now, and the just did what they needed without her to get something done. Yet, they really needed her now. Finally, Makoto got out her cell phone and called her private line to find out what was going on.

Since Minako had gone to bed at about four in the morning, she was just hitting her eight-hour need at that time, and she was just in the state between asleep and awake when her phone started to ring. It ripped her out of her dreamy state as she was still flying high on the night before and sat her straight up, scaring Artemis no end. Scrambling around in a slight panic, first, to find the receiver, and then to activate it, she connected and said, "Moshi-Moshi…"

"Minako! What are you doing? You should have been here three hours ago!" came the rebuke from Makoto though the phone.

"Three hours ago?" she said, "What are you…" and then she stopped, taking in a sharp gasp of air, suddenly realizing what day it was and where she was supposed to have been. "Oh my goodness!" she yelped, "I am so sorry…"

"You're going to have to explain that to our manager!" Makoto snapped back, "I thought you overcame that schoolgirl stuff about waking up late, but this takes the cake! They are going to take the extra money the roadies are going to demand for their time out of the receipts, you know this!"

"I'm sorry, it's just…well Freddie-kun and me…, and it was a great night…and…"

Makoto sighed, realizing that it must have been quite a date and she had forgotten herself, and remembered how long it had been since any male had shown any real interest in her. In fact, Ace could not have been one to say that he showed real interest in her, considering how he used her. Thus, this was the first real man to even care she was there despite her overt beauty, and it must have overwhelmed her. Makoto then said, "Look, they're going to lunch soon. Get here as fast as you can and we can go over the sound checks that we couldn't do because you were not here. Once that's done, we can get into the dressing rooms to get ready."

"Okay," she answered apologetically, and then, after a pause, Makoto said, "…and when we get into the dressing rooms, you had better tell me everything that happened last night, or so help me I will shave half your head while you sleep on our next road trip! It's 'Freddie-kun' now, is it?"

The both giggled like young teens and Minako started to get ready.

Stoner was grateful that he did not have duty that weekend, so he was able to sleep in. However, he awoke with new zeal, all bright eyed and bushy tailed. He prepared to face his day, but seemed to have a spring in his step as if he was dancing his way through it. She indeed was a wonderful, charming, and intelligent girl. He knew that, once this crisis was done, he would seek to get a permanent assignment if he was able. After what he was doing for the sake of the world with the Scouts, he figured they owed him. He was even humming some of the songs she had sung on their little joy ride, and truly loved her music now. She even threw in _Walking Miracle_ for him by Essex while they were spending time really getting to know each other. She was a prize he was not going to surrender come Hell or high water. If it worked out, and she indeed was the one, he intended to make this girl Mrs. Fredric Stoner.

By this point, the other Scouts, (save for Ami,) came by invitation to help with things where they could, and about an hour later, Minako and Artemis arrived to a sore and scolding manager. He was cross that she had cost them money, and oddly enough, her time at the officer school served her well, as she was able to just stand there and let it roll off her back. However, at some point, she realized that she didn't have to take this, considering the fact that he worked for them, and not the other way around. She suddenly looked like a drill instructor as she made HIM stand at attention and began dressing him down, reminding him of just who worked for whom. Money was no real issue in her mind, considering what they would lose was a pittance compared to what the record sales and the tours had brought in, and he could afford this. He was more concerned about his paycheck than anything else, and she let him know in no uncertain terms. She finished off by saying, "You'd just better remember your position, mister! We expect you to coordinate things, but that does not mean we take orders from you! Now, I believe you have some office work to do, so get to it and get out of my face! MOVE OUT SMARTLY!"

"But, ma'am…I" he started to say, but she put her hand up and said, "VANISH!"

He skittered away as if he was a cockroach in a kitchen where someone had just turned on the lights. With that, all the Scouts suddenly broke down in hysterics at the sight. She looked at them and smiled, but also looked at them oddly and said, "What's with you all?"

"YOU!" coughed out Usagi, "You looked like one of our old DIs!"

"Wow!" added Haruka, "How much of him rubbed off?"

She suddenly got this "I-know-something-you-don't" look on her face with that cheese-eating grin and said teasingly, "Wouldn't you like to know."

Everyone stopped now and looked with amazement as she swayed by one hip at a time singing, "I shot the sheriff…but I did not shoot the deputy…"

They all began to chuckle again with and "Ooh!" look on their faces, wondering just what DID happen the night before, but also knowing there were only two people on Earth that knew, and it was certain neither of them would be saying.

Because Minako seemed to be loaded with all kinds of new energy, the work went smoothly and very enjoyably. By the time it was supper, they all decided to take some time at a café that was nearby and reserved for that purpose. She had told Stoner to meet them there at about that time so he could get his pass, and Minako said, "We have to include an ABBA tune in this."

"Which one?" asked Tom, curious that she wanted to add that to the set. They had covered their songs before, so this was not odd, but he found it odd that she wanted to add this tonight, considering this was more to promote the latest album. She then said, "Super Trooper…I want that one."

They were wondering why that one, but then Makoto, running the words through her mind, said, "It's for Stoner, isn't it?"

She just grinned with a distant look in her eye and nodded. Setsuna then said, "Girl, I cannot tell if you have been walking or floating all day long. Yet, aren't you taking this a bit fast? I mean, I know this is all a new thing for you, but…"

Instead of getting mad, "Have there not been times when couples just know, and end up quite happy?"

"Well, true…" started Setsuna, but Minako said, "I…just know. It seems so right."

She was in such a happy state that they dared not say more. They would wait for a better time to deal with this, because Tom knew that, he being a Marine, there might come a time Stoner would have to deploy. It might happen that two Marines would show up at her door with one of the most unpleasant jobs that a Marine has to do in delivering a very unwanted message. That was a possibility that Makoto and Tom had to come to grips with themselves, and now knew that it was part and parcel with serving. Considering Scout duties, they both had been at death's door already, they had learned to put this in perspective, and they would have to do this for Minako if things went further. They did not want to stop their friend's happiness, and would not reject to such a union in the slightest. She just had to come down for a bit and face a few facts first. If she could handle that, then the more power to the two of them.

Stoner had just arrived before them, and they were not going to allow him in until the others showed up with the crew and back-up band in tow and cleared him. Once inside, the two quickly found each other, hugged tightly, and then kissed passionately. Everyone watched this while the two couples, (The Chibas and the Reichmanns,) cuddled a bit at the sight. After what seemed like an age, they parted, still holding each other in their arms, looking lovingly at each other and the room erupted into some applause for them. This brought them round and reddened their faces some as they realized how open they had been. The Scouts were going to gather, but Setsuna intervened and quietly got the single ones away, whispering that the couples needed to sit together, (which included Haruka and Michiru.) There was some mild protest, but Setsuna explained that they could then talk and watch to see if this had signs of something that could last, and then they could do what they could to help it along. It was not that they did not think this right, but they wanted to be sure that the two of them could be a couple and keep things in perspective: Stoner being a Marine, her duties as a Scout, and how they could work around all that. Minako had always thought that duties could keep her from a relationship, but the fact that there were already three romantically intertwined couples who could balance all this, there was no reason she could not.

At the lab, Ami was literally going over every micron of detail to find what she sought, going as far as to sketch out her samples to compare it to the pictures she had been sent. Just as it looked like there was nothing to be found, she then noticed the difference. There was one code of enzymes in the pictures she was sent that seemed to be lacking in her samples, but were both abundant in her control samples. This had to be it. She then began to look at the enzymes involved and started to jot down some possible safe chemical combinations that could dampen those who did not lack this, or who did have pitch retention, in the brain temporarily. If she could come up with some kind of drug that could do the job and do it for a sustained time—long enough to finish the mission—they had a chance. She locked everything away and prepared to go to the show and share the good news with the others.

The others were allowed to mill around backstage while the act got ready for the show. Minako and Makoto shared a dressing room, and Makoto said, "Okay, now, do you tell me every steamy detail, or do I carry out my threat!"

With that, Minako began to tell what had happened on the date, from the moment they went to the moment they returned. The longer it went on, the more amazed Makoto became, the conversation being filled with many utterances of, "No…you didn't…shut up…you devil…ooh, I'm telling your mommy!"

However, the conversation was having an effect on Makoto, and when they all emerged, Makoto gave Tom a long and passionate kiss. He smiled and said, "Why, thank you, ma'am!"

She then got an evil grin on her face and said, "You're in trouble after the show tonight!"

Because of all the atmosphere, the show had a crackle to it and energy to where the engineers considered asking the band later if they could release that as a concert album. By this point, Ami had arrived and was just enjoying the show, saving the news for later. Meanwhile, it came the time for the song, and Minako then said, "Many of you in fan mail have asked me why it is that I have not had a boyfriend for all this time, and indeed, the tabloids have said a lot in that regard that was not true. However, I am sure the news is already out that I was seen with someone in a military uniform last night. Well, he is my new boyfriend, and he has injected in me a new view of life that I never thought I would enjoy. I now have more reason to do what I do than ever before, and he has made every love song we have done tonight mean that much more. This next song is to him."

They then went into "Super Trooper," and her eyes seemed to sparkle as she sang. Stoner's heart soared as he listened, knowing that that this was a special girl, and he would be a fool to let her go. He was going to do all he could not to mess this up. After all, he was a Marine, and if the mission called for him to preserve the relationship, he would not stop until the mission was won. Even Luna and Artemis were feeling it, snuggling and purring on one another the whole time, and Artemis, who had been jealous before, was now extremely happy for his friend. She would defy the saying of that liar. She would find happiness in this way.

After the show, Ami said, "Well, it was a fight, but I managed to find that it is a recessive trait, and a rare one at that."

"How many people do you think are like that?" asked Setsuna.

"By the figures I have seen, very few, though we now know Haruka is among them," said Ami, "I mean, on none of the other islands have there been reports of anyone not succumbing."

"Well, that is, if they were not killed by the animals these things seem to be able to mutate," added Hotaru, "That is a possibility."

"What do you have in mind?" asked Rei, "Is it some kind of mind exercise that can be done to shut off that…whatever it is…that makes you fall for the whole thing? I mean, what we did…"

"…would not work for everyone," interjected Setsuna, "As we saw, it was a case of self-hypnosis. Yet, if someone cannot fully concentrate, it would fail. Moreover, some are just not able to be hypnotized."

"Correct," added Ami, "And this is why it may take something like a vaccine or something of that nature. I mean, we have drugs that help control certain chemical flows caused by faulty genetics in people whose mental instability is caused by that. In this case, we would actually seek to cause a temporary imbalance to curb the control of the song. I am toying with a few chemical combinations now that would be harmless to the mind and body, but would give us the results we need, and for a long enough time to get what needs to be done finished. There is only one snag to the whole thing. The only way truly to test them is to put some people injected with the drug near the song and experiment with it, and that, as we know, would be foolhardy. It might also tip our hand, considering that we do not know how far the center of all this can reach. It is going to be a risk, but the only way we may be able to do this is for me to put together the most logical chemical and test it then."

"That's a huge risk!" said Haruka, "What if it's fatal? What if it does not work at all?"

"I can assure that it will not be fatal," Ami answered, "And the combination I pick will certainly do the job, but the question would be, how strong would it be, would there be side effects if too strong, and how long it would really last."

"What if you are not able to isolate one drug?" asked Minako, "You may have two or three that all seem to be right, but with no certainty to be the best."

Ami sighed and said, "I would dread to have the lab as actual combat, but we may have to. There are many things we do not yet know about our foe, and we may never know until we actually go in."

"That's not so reassuring!" protested Usagi, "I hate going in blind."

"What did I tell you all throughout training," asked Stoner in surprise, and Ami echoed him in that she had heard this term learning chess, "The battle plan seldom outlasts the battle."

After a short laugh, Stoner added, "This is why I kept pushing on you all the concept of adapt, improvise, and overcome. If things come up that were not planned for in the strategy meeting—and that will happen—you have to be able to make it up as you go. Once in the fight, there are no do-overs."

"Well, let's get to the after-party," said Tom, "People are going to start asking questions if we don't show up."

"Go on without me," said Ami, "I need to get some sleep and get to work on this thing first thing in the morning. We have not heard news of another attack for a couple of days, and we have no idea how long they shall remain docile."

They all acknowledged this and went their ways, pondering what had been said, wondering if there was a solution at all. Even at the after party, though they were festive, everyone, including the new couple, were a bit preoccupied in what they had heard, realizing the gravity of what they faced, wondering if there was any way to stop it at all.

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	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Ami was putting some overtime in at the hospital, working on different formulas, trying some guesswork and using some good knowledge of chemistry to lead her. The reason for this was that there was no way to test it without actually engaging the enemy. There was no real way to try to sneak on an island without being detected and record the song. She considered asking Haruka to try, but she then realized that they would peg her long before she could get close, and they would capture her, being alone. She would have to chew on that one. In the meantime, she had narrowed it down to two compounds, but that was as far as she could go with it. The thing was, she knew both would work, but which one had worse side effects, if any? Worse, would it be temporary, or permanent? If it was permanent, then would there be severe ill effects that would wreck the chemical balance in the head and turn the patient into a drooling vegetable or raving maniac? She had to test it, but how could this be done?

For about two days, the news reported no new attacks, yet the islands were slowly expanding in size. It was amazing that this growth was not accompanied by seismic activity. Meanwhile, the first island that appeared was now about the size of the state of Connecticut in the United states, and there were fears that something drastic was going to happen in the earth's crust if this kept up. Meanwhile, not just Japan, but the world was now asking where the Sailor Scouts were, considering that their reputation had spread around the world about the superheroes from Japan that had saved the Earth from several threats. What they didn't know was that they were indeed making a plan that moment.

Ami was presenting the two formulas at the temple, and she was telling them, "So, that's it. I have no idea what they will do, what the side effects might be, if any, and that we need to test them."

"We can't get near that island," said Rei, "They would spot us a long way out."

Setsuna thought for a moment, and then said, "What if I were to deposit Haruka by a time tunnel on the island, record about a minute of the music, and then draw her back?"

"Perhaps we can test it that way as well," said Ami, "I...I will inject myself with one, and then a volunteer with another. We can record and use that to see who is immune and who is not, and then use the better vaccine."

"And...if it doesn't work..." asked Hotaru, letting the question dangle, knowing they would pick up on things. Ami sighed and answered, "Then...it's back the drawing board."

"Wait, if it is bad, we can't risk you!" chirped Minako with all kinds of worry. Setsuna added, "I have to take that risk. I won't let Haruka go alone, and, besides, because I invented these, I have to be the one. Yet, both have to be tested. I need a volunteer."

Michiru, Makoto, and Rei were all about to volunteer, but Usagi cut them off and said, "I'll do it."

Everyone looked in shock for different reasons. Normally, she did not get this brave unless the pressure was on, and then she always seemed to act before anyone could say anything, and then, exercised much in wisdom that never seemed to be there otherwise. This was new. This shocked the others that the future queen of the Earth was going to put it all on the line. Setsuna protested, but Usagi said, "Look, ever since we've been back from the U.S., I have been on the sidelines, and I am supposed to be the leader. I'm sick of standing on the side and not taking the risks. Like Sgt. Stoner said, if I am to lead, I have to lead from the front. I'll take the other one."

There was a good 15 seconds of silence, and there was going to be some protest, but she produced her wand and said, "CRYSTAL MOON POWER...MAKE UP!"

She transformed right there before everyone, and she then said, "Give me the shot."

Not only was there no arguing with her, but her display of bravery made everyone not want to try. Ami and Haruka also transformed, and then Mercury gave her the shot, and then injected herself with the other one. Amie said, "It will take about five minutes to work through the system, and then you and I shall feel a touch woozy for about another five while the balance in our heads shifts."

Indeed, as she had said, after five minutes it started to take effect, and then came the dizziness. However, after that, there seemed to be no ill effects, and so Setsuna then transformed and became Sailor Pluto. She opened the portal, and she asked, "Where to?"

Mercury was about to suggest a nearby island, but Moon then said, "The main island. The enemy would never expect it."

Again, there was surprise, and Stoner then said, "I see you did pay attention in class. You must have been sleep taught."

She chuckled and said, "How could that happen when I was in the front leaning rest most of class time?"

Everyone laughed, and Rei said, "If that stuff is making you smarter, Ami needs to give you a second dose."

With that, Pluto had them on their way.

One would think that, due to the size of the island now, it would take them forever to get there, but considering patterns in other spots, they knew the foe would be to the center. Setsuna deposited them right on the border of where the central crowd would be. When they looked around, those that had not been selected were on the ground, near skeletons, all comatose, and Mercury feared that they were dead. What she did not know was that the alien's power was not letting death come, but allowing them to gain just enough to keep them from dying, along with moisture and minimal nourishment from the animals she controlled. Once they landed, Uranus wasted no time and started to record the song. The other two took defensive positions. However, after that minute, the song stopped and a beautiful female voice spoke, saying, "Clever...it took me a minute to detect you here! I would love to know how you got here, but no matter. You have meddled long enough, and sad that you did not come with enough to stop me. Minions, get them!"

This was about the moment they were heading for the hole, but it shrunk to almost nothing as Pluto could be heard saying, "They approach. You have to get a distance from them because I cannot risk them getting through."

They all grumbled, but they started to run away after Mercury let loose with a Bubble Spray. Uranus was about to let loose with World Shaking, but Mercury reminded her that they were not in their right mind, and killing them would be wrong. After the spray, they ran, and Uranus said, "My way they would have not followed!"

"Your way was naughty, naughty," said Moon, "We're not on a rock and bowling night!"

That did drive home the point, but the problem was how she said it. It was an odd choice of words. They spotted a clearing, and Moon then let loose with Full Moon Flash, but said, "FULL MOON HAPPY FLASHY, FLASHY!"

It worked, but it also added a bunch of colors, and now Moon was staring in fascination to the colors, saying all soft and like a little girl, "Pretty!"

"No time for games, Princess!" snapped Uranus, who took her arm and started to drag her from the now blinded minions.

"Oh don't be a party poop, Miss Man-Girl," she said, giggling as if she was tripping out. Uranus glared at her, but Mercury said, "It's the drug! She's not in her right mind!"

"As opposed to what?" asked Uranus as the portal opened and let them through. Mercury was now worried that Moon was taking a trip from where she would never come back.

Back at the temple, Moon looked as if she was going through an acid trip. Ami took a blood sample, (that Moon went, "Ooh, pretty crimson!") and analyzed it. She then said, "Well, it seems that her chemistry is such that it causes hallucinations. Other people would have an ill effect, but I don't think it would be this bad."

Mamoru then asked, "Uh...will she be okay?"

"It seems to be less in her than what should be there," said Ami, sweating a touch, "But, she should be okay in a short time."

Ami then took a sample of her own blood, and she said, "No ill effects, and I think what I had was the right stuff."

Setsuna said, "Okay, well, let's test this. Haruka, if we all fall into a trance, turn the thing off."

She nodded and hit "play". It did not take long, but they were all in that trance, and even Ami a touch, considering the drug was wearing off on her. Immediately, Haruka turned it off, and everyone shook their heads as if awaking from sleep, and Rei said, "Amazing: only a second or two and we went under that spell."

"I would think that stuff Ami made is our only hope," added Tom.

Ami was doing some calculations as she spoke, and she said, "The rate at which this diminishes, and to where it would have little effect, is three hours, more or less, depending on the metabolism of the person."

"That's not much of a window," said Tom, to which Stoner said, "We would need to inject the force the same way you three went in. Setsuna, could you open a portal that large?"

"I would be able to for the team, and maybe a small force with it," she answered, "But I would be out of commission for a short space while I gathered my energy. I would be able to join you then."

"Wait," interjected Makoto, "Are you calling for a direct attack?"

"That's how us Devil Dogs do it!" said Stoner proudly, "Get up in the enemy's face and let them have it!"

Hotaru looked at him with a face of curiosity and said, "Is that why Marines always take the heaviest casualties? Is that wise with such a small team?"

Tom and Stoner looked as if they were about to say something, but now looked sheepish, knowing she was right, and had no way to answer back. However, Minako said, "Still, a frontal attack or a sneak attack, it does not matter. She can sense us through anything she can control."

They all nodded. Mamoru, (who was now holding a woozy Usagi,) then said, "Yet, we're making a strategy for attacking the main island. Is that smart?"

"Why not?" retorted Stoner, "Cut off the head of the snake, and the body is useless."

"Ugh...I hate snakes!" said Usagi, now vocal, "Are you sure we have to do so much right away?"

Ami then said, "Well, recall the myth of the hydra: if we only go for one island that is an outlet, whatever is controlling that...a she, if we go by the voice on the tape...would just take a couple of her minions and send out two more, and on land this time. We see she can do that. The more we knock down, the more above that will return. The only way to kill the hydra was to attack the central body."

Tom nodded and then asked, "Okay, so, when do we strike?"

"Give it a couple of days," said Setsuna, "Let us take the time to come up with a good strategy."

They all agreed to this, and Rei said, "So, is our little get together still on for tonight?"

"Yea!" yelled a suddenly recovered Usagi, "Let's have some fun first!"

Everyone laughed as Rei said, "I'll get the fire pit going. Makoto is going to try some American Barbecue tonight!"

Sirena was steamed beyond belief. These strange attackers had the audacity to just seem, mess around, and disappear as if they owned the island. What was worse was that there seemed to be an ability to time and dimension jump. This was greater than anything she had yet seen. She and her kind had taken down mighty planets with star fleets and armies, and yet this petty little group was causing more trouble than the biggest force they had ever faced. She looked around at her minions and those that she was using to keep the island going and found one comatose girl from Japan and she started to pick her mind about these attackers. Because of how they looked, she had to guess they were from there, and so probed this girl's mind. After watching for a time, she knew they were very powerful, but she also knew that she had really been messing around up to this point. She had thought a slow and subtle approach was needed here, because she figured there was nothing that this primitive world could offer for resistance. Yet, if she unleashed everything she had, there was no way such a small group could fight her, and the island was too big for them to take. Sure, they could jump right in to where she was, but, in reality, that would be suicide. The animals she had altered were the strongest around where she was, and there were also her minions. She would keep a handful as human shields, considering their reluctance to attack these people. There was no more time for delay. She would have wanted to gain more minions first, but since the humans had caught on and stayed away, she had to use what she had. If she did enough, she could then create more worthy ones, and spread the process around the planet like an epidemic. They would knock themselves out trying to stop it. It would have to happen, and right away. With that, she began to change her song, and start to slowly spread the command to all islands for full-scale attack around the world simultaneously. She sneered and thought, "_Okay, Sailor Scouts...try to stop this!_"

That night was filled with food, songs and laughter. They were doing what any good military squad or team would do: fellowship in order to cohere as a tight team. The ARK Juban Trio was doing most of the singing, but they were getting everyone to sing with them as much as possible. Tom then took his guitar, (having learned to play by this point, not having been able to when the group first formed,) and started to play _Annie's Song_. Michiru stated to add her violin to the mix, and the couples started to nuzzle: Makoto settling for sitting behind Tom and putting her arms around his waist, as Haruka did with Michiru, while the Chibas were cuddling, as was Minako and Stoner. Minako and Stoner were even quietly singing the song to one another as if they were truly demanding this of one another, wanting to be there for one another, even dying in one another's arms if it went there. However, as the song finished, they looked up to see what looked like a meteor shower. Usagi just said, "Pretty," very quietly, but Ami became alarmed. The large fire in front of them would have dimmed such a stellar display. It was rather bright. She slipped away to where it was completely dark, and swallowed hard when she noticed how bright it all was. Rei started to swoon a touch, and and both Hotaru and Michiru locked up in a trance. By this point, they noticed Ami had walked away and followed up, now seeing how odd it all looked. Yet, before Setsuna joined them, Hotaru muttered, "It has started. The invasion has started."

Setsuna put two and two together, and ran to the others, saying, "Ami, you have to get to your hospital now and start whipping up the drug now. It's on!"

It didn't take long for them to realize what she meant, and Ami was now at a dead sprint to her car as the others pulled out their wands. Whatever they did earlier must have sparked a response. They had no idea what it was yet, but all they knew was that, one way or another, it was going to end within the next 24 hours if they could manage it.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

All across the world, Hell was breaking loose. Places on land were being overrun while new islands popped up everywhere. It was an all-out attack, and people were quickly becoming overwhelmed. Anything that was sent to stop them was being stopped and controlled. What few that could resist the song were being captured and imprisoned. After that, new singers were quickly assigned, sent out, and the process repeated itself. In Japan, the outskirts of the city were being hit, but things were slowly moving in. In the case of Tokyo, it was all being forced towards the bay. As a result, the team knew to head for the joint US and Japanese naval base to get their bearings and go from there. It was more than likely the safest place for the time being, and Mercury could use the hospital there to make some vaccines for them and for anyone else that could join the fight, that is, if there was anyone left that could fight.

The scouts were quickly ushered into a war room where Admiral Ravalli was consulting with his tacticians and on the phone with the President at the same time. Indeed, even Washington DC was under assault, and the President was in the White House war room deep beneath the White House itself, trying to coordinate things in defense of a nation that was quickly falling to this odd foe. Stoner was able to suit up and ready himself and entered with the others. Ravalli then said, "Good, you're here! I sure hope you have some ideas, because it's all going down the Johnny Flusher real quick!"

"Sailor Mercury has come up with a vaccine that temporarily stops the control of the singers," said Pluto, "However, there is only so much she can make up in this time, and we are not sure just how much that would be."

He cursed under his breath and said, "Well, I can tell you they are spreading like a disease, and there are few areas left in the world not affected. However, as ironic as this may seem, one spot that has not yet been as affected is here in the Caribbean, near the main island itself. You would think it one of the first places to go."

"It could be because their boss thinks that she is so close to the thing that she doesn't need anything right away," responded Ceres, "That's a longshot, but that's all I have."

"Perhaps they underestimate anyone's ability to do anything there," responded Ravalli, "And if underestimation is what they are doing, then we could use that to our advantage."

"What's there military-wise?" asked Venus, "Perhaps we could use that."

"Well Trinidad and Tobago have not yet been compromised," answered Ravalli, pointing to the map, "They have the biggest force in that area, and we could use them. Where is Lieutenant Mercury?"

"At the base hospital right now," answered Mask, "Hopefully, she's able to get something together."

"We have time before it all falls out here," said Ravalli, "I'll contact that force of which I spoke and if you can get there..."

"I can get us there quickly," answered Pluto, "Be sure of that."

"Right," answered Ravalli. He addressed one of his men and said, "One of you get on the horn and call the base hospital and see where we are with that. I'll call their National Security Operations Center. Get ready for battle, because this could get ugly!"

While they waited and made arrangements, the noose was tightening all over the world, and even in the Caribbean, where now they were being subdued, but Trinidad was being ignored for the time being. Mercury finally arrived and said, "I only have enough for a small force."

"That's fine," he said, "Because T and T have given us their elites: the Special Naval Unit. They are going to help us while the rest of their military is going to act in defense of the island, for what it's worth. Once the song is heard, it's pretty much game over."

"We're going for the head of the snake," said Venus, "Or the body of the Hydra, as Mercury put it. If we can kill the main control over everyone, we can act."

"Considering what you may face," added Ravalli, "Stoner, you are being issued an M-14 considering the size of the mutant animals you may face. Since the force that will be aiding you will be using the old British SA-58 Self-Loading Rifles, I want you to have something that uses the same ammo in case you run out."

"Please remember not to hurt the people," begged Sailor Moon, "You know they can't help it."

"It's going to make it harder, but I'll try my best," answered Stoner, "Are we ready?"

Mercury had a spray injector for everyone and said, "Okay, line up. We have to be ready. Admiral, I have enough for the people in this room, and I've left the formula for them to make more."

"I'm going to transmit that to areas not yet subdued," answered Ravalli, "Perhaps if we get enough, we might be able to slow and delay things enough to where you have the time to act. If you fail, even if we do this, I am afraid that that might not be enough. We'll load up the base and start to get as many inoculated as we can. How long does this last?"

"About three hours," answered Mercury, "Make sure you save it until you absolutely need it."

"Then we'll send it out to the perimeters not yet subdued in the city and work backwards from there," he answered, just as he was informed that the outer parts of the city were beginning to fall. Ravalli then said, "Get going on this and we'll make our stand here."

With that, she was quickly injecting everyone and then Pluto opened a portal to Trinidad and said, "Okay, it's now or never!" and they were on their way.

The portal dumped them out on the spot of the base where the SNU would meet them. There was a force of about 50 ready to go, made up of active and reserve members of the force, and even a few old-timers that had been in and knew that they could lend a hand. Pluto came up and briefed them on where they were going and the man in charge said, "So, we gonna drop right in on their heads, or we gonna be sneaky 'bout this?"

Venus, because she had excelled in tactics at OCS, came forward and said, "We have to come in from the outskirts and move in, and force them to exhaust their defenses. I figure their strongest would be to the center, and why take that on full force, and then have her call in reserves? Yet, we still have to land close enough to make this quick, considering the size of the island. On foot it would take days."

"That's a good point," answered the commander, "We move in with stealth and take 'em down!"

"One problem with that," said Stoner, eying Sailor Moon, "The people are casualties of the situation. We're going to have to take them on hand-to-hand and subdue them. The mutant animals are fair game."

"Hmm... That's gonna slow us down!" answered the commander, "If that's the case, then we gotta sneak up on them and take 'em down before they know we there."

"She seems to have the ability to detect intruders," answered Uranus, "That may not be so easy."

"That's if we all hit in a bunch," responded the commander, "If we spread out, they gotta spread out. Even if she can see us comin', they still gotta act on their own, and if they can't see what's gonna hit them, they in for a world of hurt."

"Right," said Pluto, "Then line up, because we have the vaccine we told you about ready. The song will have no effect."

With that, the lined up and got the shots they needed. They then decided on fast-moving deployment choppers to go in. Neptune asked, "Will that not cause a racket?"

"Nah," answered the commander, "Once we get close enough to land safely, we can kill engines and allow the momentum to bring us in as long as we come in low."

With that, they were loading up and moving out.

Sirena was delighted beyond belief. The Earth was vainly trying to fight off the onslaught, and even more to her delight, it seemed, in some places, the forces were in such a panic that they were actually killing some of the subdued. For Sirena, that didn't matter if anyone died. If it got the job done, then so be it. After all, once her attack force arrived, they were going to rape the planet anyway and take what they wanted. What was left wouldn't live long after anyway, and so their wholesale slaughter of the creatures on it would actually be a mercy killing. Yet, what worried her was that she had lost track of the Sailor Scouts, and because of that, she was looking in all locations for even a hint of their approach, because she just knew they were coming. Yet, though she could look like this, she was not omniscient; being distracted in her search, she failed to notice the approaching choppers. Once they were past the fog, sailing over the treetops as close as they could fly, and in sight of some decent landing spots they prepared to cut engines and deploy. In the scout's chopper was the commander and a handful of men, and he said, "Stay behind us and we make a hole for you to get in. Once we establish a safe rally point, a handful will escort you in. From there, it's all you."

They nodded and cut engines. The momentum still in the rotors allowed them to come in and land with out a sound. Once done, everyone spilled out in quick succession and began to spread out, mixing with the thick jungle that had formed on the island. Because they had not been noticed coming in, they were making quick progress. It was then they came upon an outer line of defense, and they used the terrain to slink up to them. They covered the mouths of the guards and used holds that would cut off their carotid arteries and put them out without a struggle. Once done, they used the vines handy to tie them and they moved on. Yet, because of so many going out at once, Sirena snapped out of her search and used the eyes of the nearby animals to see what was happening. Her eyes went wide, and now she was enraged at having let her guard down. Nevertheless, those people had served their purpose. There were none left that could fight, because the rest either went out to attack, or the others were shells of themselves, barely kept alive. Yet, she could use that. For some reason, she sensed a certain kind of spirit about the one with the buns on her head. It was one she figured she could use with the few people left. For now, she was going to cause them to face the worst Hell they ever dreamed as far as she was concerned.

They had not gotten far when the foliage of the jungle began to rattle and shake in all directions as the wildlife there began to attack in their mutated form: birds, rodents, even crabs from the beach, and whatever kind of fauna was native to the area came from all directions. The SNU did not even hesitate, nor did Stoner, as he opened fire and they all fought with all they had. The scouts opened up with their attacks as well, and because they were the biggest attack they had, they were acting as artillery at distant targets as the rest took on everything else that was at close range. It was a slog, but it was fight, advance, fight some more, advance, take what ground you could. What was even more interesting was how much more the scouts were in sync with one another, and with the SNU as they went, all the training that they had had coming to the fore; they were quickly being able to work in sync with the SNU and coordinate their unique attacks with theirs. They were even able to keep the island from burning down as Mars' fire attacks went forth, did their damage, and were then quickly doused with Mercury's and Neptune's water attacks. The target was clearly the glowing spot in the middle, and they worked their way towards it. However, the attack seemed to stop, but the commander said, "I don't like this! They broke off too quick. Watch your six!"

Indeed it was too quiet, but that was quickly broken as the commander's instincts proved true. A massive attack came from the rear seeking to overwhelm them. They were close to their target, but as soon as they engaged the foe coming from behind, a smaller, sneakier attack came from the other direction. Yet, Uranus was up to the task as she shot forth, "WORLD SHAKING!" and plowed a path through them and the jungle right to their target. The commander shouted, "Get going! We can hold them off!"

They were using grenades now, expertly picking off targets, but doing what they could to preserve ammunition. They had no idea how many animals were mutated and coming, and when they ran out, it was hand-to-hand, and they knew it would be all over at that point. Venus started to go, but noticed Stoner staying with the SNU. "Let's go!" she shouted."

"Get going!" he shouted, "I'll meet you!"

"We're a team, Marine!" she shouted, "We have to act together!"

"I have to help here!" he shouted back, "I'll catch up!"

She was worried now, wondering if he was intending suicide. What made it worse was the fact that, because of what they had now, and because of how desperate she was to keep a relationship, her stomach twisted, saying, "I can't lose you!"

"SNAP OUT OF IT!" he shot back, "We don't have time for this!"

He gave her a shove to the others, saying, "You'll see me, just get going!"

She wanted to protest, but Uranus began dragging her off, saying, "Get your head in the game!"

Before she could protest, they were on their way, but kept an eye on Stoner as it seemed things were getting worse for him.

Within moments, they were where Sirena was, but they all ground to a halt when they saw that some of the animals had taken the emaciated humans and held them in such a fashion that, with one command, they would all be dead. By this point, Sirena was letting her true form show through. She was wearing flowing and yet revealing robes, showing a rather attractive body by human standards, but her face, though seductive, was devilish in appearance, including her sea blue devilish eyes, solid in color through and through, accenting lines on her face, fangs, and long white hair and silver skin. "Welcome, princess!" said Sirena, "I do believe that is what you are?"

Sailor Moon, after shaking off the shock, said, "What does that matter?"

"Oh, I'm sure it matters much to you," answered Sirena, "Knowing that your mind waves show someone who has a big caring heart, and has some hope for the future. Too bad it ends now."

"No!" she answered, but she started to approach and then stop as the animals tightened their grip and threatened to kill the people there. Sirena then said, "Surrender, or they all die."

Uranus said, "Princess, you have to do something! We have no choice!"

"NO!" snapped Moon, "They have done nothing wrong!"

Sirena giggled evilly and said, "Oh, such a weak spirit! How could you ever hope to be a queen!"

Saturn started to say, "She has more strength..." But cut off and started to scream in pain, along with Neptune and Mars, holding their heads and dropping to their knees. Sirena laughed and said, "Fools! Only now, when your doom is before you, do you understand. My mind control goes beyond song. Too bad you had comrades so open to it."

It was then she noticed Moon's scepter and the Silver Crystal. She tapped into it and almost swooned to the power it was giving off, saying, "Yes, much could be done with that! Yes, surrender now, and give me that scepter, and I let these people go, and free your friends."

Mars, Neptune, and Saturn were all screaming in pain now, one saying, "Stop! It burns!" while another screamed about the bugs, each one going through their worst nightmares. "Why do you hesitate?" asked Sirena, "Give it to me! You have no choice!"

She started to turn cross and snarled, "You are trying my patience!"

Scared and unsure, she started to approach Sirena. Sirena began to smile, sounding anxious as she said, "Yes...YES... Bring it to me!"

It was at this point that Venus charged up to stop it, and Sirena caught this as a large bird shot towards her to stop her.

What no one had noticed was that the firing had almost ceased. The SNU had subdued the attack, and no more was coming, considering how distracted that she was with the scouts. They then started an approach and hid in the underbrush surrounding the clearing with Stoner. However, when the bird shot out, Stoner screamed, "NO!" and charged out. He knocked Venus out-of-the-way, but the bird caught him around the waist by his talons and impaled him in the process. It tried to bite him, but Stoner stuck the muzzle in its mouth and used the last volley he had and blew its brains out. The bird let go, and he was bleeding badly. Venus scooped him up quickly, and even Sirena released control over the three scouts she was attacking when she saw this. She looked at Moon, and then Saturn, saying, "Do something!"

But Saturn was still weak, and there was too much damage to heal. Not even Moon Healing Escalation would be enough. It would have taken both Saturn and Moon to do this, but Saturn was out of it. This was why Tom could be helped after being stabbed during the Baron Sark incident, but the damage here was too much for Moon to act on her own. Moon didn't have what she had on Tokyo Tower that severely amplified her power. Besides that, she was powerful, but she was not a goddess. Venus was hard in tears now, rocking a fading Stoner, saying, "No, don't leave me! You HAVE to make it! Why did you have to do this?"

Though coughs, he weakly said, "That's what we do. I die, but you fight on."

"No!" she now weakly plead, "You don't know how important to me you are!"

"Oh, I do," he said, growing weaker, "And you were just as important...enough to die for...I love you...now...just let me...die...in... your... arms..."

And Staff Sergeant Fredric Stoner joined his fellow Marines at Fiddler's Green. Venus let out a long and loud, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" as Moon was also in tears. Yet, in addition to the sadness she now felt, rage was boiling in her, and in a way she had never felt before. For the first time in her friend's life, she had love, and it was stolen from her once again. Venus had always spoken of the curse, and Moon didn't want to believe it was that curse. "_No, it was not the curse,_" she thought, wheeling her gaze around to Sirena, "_It was you!_"

Sirena was taken aback, not just because of the change in Moon at that point, but now at the bright glow of the crystal. "You want this scepter!" snarled Moon, "I dare you to try and take it!"

"I'll kill..." Sirena started to say, but Moon shouted, "DEEP UMBRA CLEANSING," and an energy blast shot out that reversed the effects on the animals within about 100 yards of them. She turned her look back at Sirena and said, "Well, what are you waiting for? You want this?"

Sirena could not believe or understand what was happening. The scouts were trying to beg off Moon, and Sirena could not do much to stop Moon, but Moon still wanted her to take the scepter. Finally, a sneer curled over the lips of Sirena and said, "You want me to have this; you must be stupid on top of crazy!"

Once she had the scepter, she would then call in the fleet, and victory would be theirs. She then put her hands on the scepter, and suddenly realized her mistake.

As soon as she grabbed it, fear and gripping pain shot through her. It seemed that Moon, through it, and the Silver Crystal, was channeling her anger, sadness, and rage through it. Too late, Sirena could now not let go, as if held there by electricity, and she was being electrocuted by it. Moon, through her anger and tears snarled, "You evil, wicked woman! How could you have no heart, and hurt so many people! You hurt my friends! I would beg for the goodness in you to come forth, but unlike others I have helped, I see no goodness in you! Your conscience is seared shut, you reprobate witch!"

No one could believe what they were seeing. Someone had actually pushed Sailor Moon enough to get to where she did not care any more. Only once, with Queen Beryl, did she ever get like this, but the others had either not yet emerged, or were dead because of Beryl. They had all sacrificed for her, and she swore she would do all she could to protect her friends, and now this happens. Only Pluto had seen this, and now said, "Everyone, clear out now!"

Venus could not move, but before anything could be said, the members of the SNU had already grabbed her, and Stoner's body, and cleared out. Once this happened, Sailor Moon flipped Sirena over using the scepter and slammed her hard. Before Sirena could regain herself and retaliate, Moon had stuck the points of the crescent on her scepter into Sirena's gut and screamed, "FULL MOON FLASH!"

They others had only managed to get about a hundred yards from the spot when they felt blast of air push them back a bit, followed by an explosion and a bright light. They all hit the deck as the energy wave passed over them, and after getting their air back, they were able to see a prominent crater where they had been. They now thought the worst, and the scouts, save for Venus, rushed back in, only to find the scepter stuck into the ground, Moon in her royal dress, and energy globes protecting her and the innocents in the area as she stood in a crater about 20 yards wide. Sirena was nowhere to be seen. All that could be assumed was that she had completely ceased to be. As soon as that happened, around the world, everything that was attacking had stopped. People came to themselves and wondered what happened and where they were. The crisis was over. Yet, at what cost?

After a few more moments, Moon reverted back to her scout form, and passed out as the globes disappeared. Members of the SNU were there quickly and starting to render her aid, and aid to the emaciated. They got to their choppers and started to call in for medical aid for the people there, and word got out around the world soon after to go to the islands and aid the people there. A massive effort to clean up the mess was quickly underway. The scouts were now getting aboard boats that had approached to pick them up, as Moon was barely conscious on a stretcher, and Venus was now just numb with shock. They had indeed won, but at that moment, they did not feel much like winners.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

All over the world, the spell was broken. Everyone was freed, and now one of the biggest efforts to take care of sick and wounded began. In some places, martial law was temporarily declared, but one thing that was quickly discovered was that the islands that had formed began to dissipate. Swift efforts of the various national navies and coast guards kicked into effort to retrieve everyone so that they would not drown or be eaten by various forms of sea life. The emaciated started to show signs of regaining strength, but it would take some time for them to recover fully. It was chaotic at first, but once everyone had their right minds, everything calmed, and things were cared for, and yet, there was some sadness, as there would be hands-full everywhere that would not go home. This was also true for the scouts.

When they had gotten there, the main island had grown big enough to land lock the destroyer that had gone in months before. The island was also disintegrating, but it would not do so fast enough to free the destroyer. Yet, there was not enough fit sailors to crew her, so they figured they would retrieve her when the time was right. In the meantime, a few frigates arrived, along with a couple of Coast Guard cutters to render medical aid and rescue if needed. Venus was right by Stoner's side the whole time. No matter what the other scouts tried, they could not get her away. She watched the whole thing as they bagged him, set him in the metal box, and strapped the United States flag to the top. Members of the SNU watched as the box passed them, and the knew a good warrior had been lost. To honor him, they were called into a formation, called to attention, presented arms, and then seven stepped out and presented a 21-gun salute to Stoner. One came up to Venus and said, "We are so sorry to see this. He was a good man, fighter, and brave warrior. He gave everything for you. You should be proud of him."

She was cried out now, and numb, barely acknowledging what he had said, but giving him a look of, "Thank you," before she was ushered onto the cutter. Once there, the chief medical officer said, "Please come, lieutenant: we're giving your whole team a check-up."

She ignored the doctor and would not leave the coffin. "Lieutenant, this is just procedure. Please come with me," he insisted, and tried to pull her along, but she ripped her arm away and looked a touch cross now. He tried to protest, but Mercury said, "I'm the team's doctor. I'll handle her check-up. Don't worry."

"Look, I have my job..." he started to say, but Jupiter came up and scowled, saying, "Commander, our admiral and princess needs tending to—deal with it."

Seeing her marks as a rear admiral, he snapped to attention and said, "My apologies ma'am, but..."

"I am giving you a direct order," she snarled through her accent and improving English, "Move out smartly!"

His jaw dropped open, and all he could say now is, "Yes ma'am," and he scrambled out of there as everyone else went with him to see to Sailor Moon. Jupiter stayed there as Mercury tended to Venus. She then said, "It's mild shock. She'll get over it, but let her stay here if she wants to."

Marine Ceres came down to find his wife and she said to him, "That insensitive bastard of a doctor!" and explained what had happened. He then said, "You could have him brought up on charges."

Coming to herself, she sighed and said, "No, I guess I can let it go. Let's not make this anymore than it has to be. I'm going to stay with Mina-chan...okay?"

He just nodded and left the three to console their friend. Before long, they were able to get her away, and they gave her a place to sleep, but they would stay with her. Worse, their felt like their hearts were going to break as Venus curled up into a fetal position, and began to cry anew.

Stoner was to have his spot of honor with all his fallen brothers in Arlington National Cemetery, and the scouts, being that he was with their team when it happened, were asked to act as pallbearers. Minako, of course, was not asked to do so, being that she was essentially the only family he had. He really had no one else but the Sailor Scouts to be there to send him off. Thus, they went through rehearsals of the memorial service, and it was always the part called "The Roll Call of the Dead," that was roughest for Minako. She would have to be a part of it, but she really had no wish to be. She also knew Tom was going to sing to honor him, but he really did not mention what the song was going to be, and said it would be a surprise. Surprisingly, when it was asked who would do the eulogy, Usagi chimed in and said that she would do it. With Mamoru's help, she was able to put something together that was not scattered and unconnected, though she really was not as bad as she was when she and Mamoru first met.

Three days before the funeral, they were brought to the United States in their scout guises, but dropped them once they were in privacy. They even managed to sneak the cats on board so they could observe as well. Venus/Minako, however, spent most of her time secluding herself, mostly in the dark, and she had not been eating regularly. They finally had a chance to observe this now, as she never came out of her room, and barely ate. Mercury/Ami was now certain what was going on, and she said to the others, "She is reacting just the same as if she had been married to him, and lost her husband. What we are seeing is a side of her just wanting to give up on life, and she is basically wanting to die, but has no strength to kill herself. Someone needs to help her come around."

"Perhaps you should say something, Setsuna," said Luna, but she said, "No. I think her soul sister needs to talk to her."

"Usagi?" asked Luna, not certain about this, "Do you really think..."

But Setsuna held up her hand and said, "You would be surprised on how Usagi can know the right things to say in a situation like this."

Rei rolled her eyes, but she had to relent. Setsuna was right. Usagi had to be the one. "At least can I be there?" asked Artemis.

Setsuna smiled and said, "Of course: she needs good friends right now."

Usagi came to the room, knocked, but when she got no answer, she just walked in. She pushed in a tray of hot food and said, "Room Service said you didn't answer the door. Hungry?"

Minako looked at her, shrugged, and went back to staring at the wall. Awkward moments passed as there was a loss for what to say. She looked, and even smelled as if she was not bathing right, looking a touch peckish, and disheveled. She didn't even have her hair done as she normally did, completely at a loss. "So, um, ah... Hey, its beautiful today! Washington D.C. is beautiful! Can I open the curtain?"

Minako just sighed, not really caring, yet inwardly she was saying, "I want to stay in the dark. I don't care anymore."

Usagi opened the curtain, and Minako reacted as if she had not seen the sun for years. It was then when the full extent of things could be seen. She was pale, with dark circles under her eyes, and looked as if she was not even sleeping right. A tear started to roll down Usagi's cheek, and all she could now do was kneel behind Minako and embrace her. Artemis leaped up and curled onto her lap, looking up at her, trying to let her know he was there for her. Finally Minako broke the silence and said, "I am cursed. Ace was right."

Usagi's eyes went wide. They had talked about this a long time ago, and Usagi laughed it off, but now she understood. Minako thought this was the curse all over again. Usagi stood straight up came around to the front, and said, "No, I refuse to believe that! That's nonsense!"

She grabbed a chair and sat in front of her as Minako said, "Is it? He said I would never know love. I would never have love. I thought for the first time he was wrong. This was it. And now... And now... and now..."

She started to tear up and was ready to cry again, except this time, she scooped up Artemis and held him tight. It was a touch uncomfortable, but he wouldn't dare protest now. Usagi let her cry for a bit, though hard, and then said, "Ace is wrong. You did beat him."

With reddened eyes and a tear-stained face, she looked up, shocked at, not just the statement, but the confident tone with which her friend said it. Usagi then said, "His curse was that you would never find love, but you did. He showed you love in the greatest way I could ever think one could. You _have_ known love, and not just from him, but from all of us, don't you think? Do you have to have a boy to know love?"

Minako looked at her oddly, but the wheels were turning, and a bit of her vigor was returning. "I... I don't know?" she said, not even sure if she believed the words she was saying at that moment. Usagi then said, "We love you; we all love you. Had it come to it, I think any one of us would have done that. I think it's because he loved you that he did that, because, really, would he have just let you die?"

She was crying again, but a weak smile began to curl on her face. She did not fully understand what her friend was saying, but somehow, it was consoling. Usagi then said, "You have to continue. For him, you have to go on. He gave everything for you; why would you waste that now?"

Usagi came up and hugged her as Minako buried her face into Usagi's shoulder. Her hard grip had loosened on Artemis, but she still held him, and he purred contentedly. Artemis then said, "Mina-chan, use tomorrow to springboard on. Saying good-bye is the best thing for you now."

Minako squealed out, "If he saw me like this, he just might go drill instructor on me."

For some reason, both of them were able to find a laugh out of it, and now they were both crying, but gaining closure on the matter. Yes, she still was not sure Usagi was completely right, but, she would use the memorial to push on.

The principles were all gathered at the graveside, and the six strongest scouts acted as pallbearers. Those of the SNU that had served were also there to observe and pay their respects in their best uniforms. The snares and toms rolled a slow but sharp beat, as the six slowly approached with a cadence called the Queen Anne step: 45 beats per minute. The leg came out, pointed at an angle, came down as the other leg came forward, did the same thing, and so forth. The coffin was then set on the lowering straps as set in front of it was an M-16 rifle, stuck into the ground by a bayonet, Stoner's helmet on the stock, a set of dog tags hung on it, with a pair of boots tied and set in front of the rifle with a picture of Stoner on it. The others then joined the rest of the scouts as the chaplain came forward. He opened with a prayer and began proceedings. He then said, "All gave some. Some gave all. Indeed this could be said about Staff Sergeant Fredric Stoner, coming to the fore when his nation, nay, the whole world needed him the most. Today, we say farewell to a brave man who was not afraid to look death right in the face and act to help aid the whole world. His last duty was with a team the world now owes a great debt. Though originally heroes from Japan, they are now dual citizens in the Unites States, and have made many great sacrifices to right wrongs, and bring the evil to justice. Loosely translated from the Japanese, the team known as the Sailor Scouts were his last assignment as they worked together with our allies in the Caribbean to destroy something that threatened the end of our world as we know it. Here to say a few words is Princess Admiral Sailor Moon."

Sailor Moon came up and, after a slight stumble at the podium, put up the speech she had worked on with Mamoru, and began: "Staff Sergeant Fredric Stoner was indeed someone to look up to. He grew up in Missouri as a farm boy, and learned hard work and respect for people as a young boy. He was a leader among his peers, and a great student: a model for all. His passions were for two things: football, and to follow in his father's footsteps and become a Marine."

Marine Ceres gave a slight smile, knowing how Stoner must have felt. Usagi continued, saying, "Entering the Marine Corps at 18, fresh out of high school, he was the outstanding recruit in his platoon in Initial Entry Training, and after his school, he quickly moved up through the ranks. His leadership caused him to be noticed for duty as a drill instructor. He proved to be effective enough of one to where he was assigned to Officer Candidacy School."

She could not mention that he was their instructor due to certain security reasons, but she was able to say, "Because of his dealings with the Navy directly, he was able to meet Lieutenant Sailor Venus, and the pair were able to form a close friendship."

Moon could not say just how far they took things, lest it be that people figured out who was who. However she did say, "Just as much, and more so, because of certain connections, he was able to meet and build a relationship with the singer Minako Aino. She is here, but concealed, wishing to remain outside the spotlight, as can be understood. Sailor Venus will be accepting the tokens of memorial in her stead."

Venus sighed a breath of relief that they were able to work around that. Usagi then said, "However, Miss Aino can be proud of her Marine, as his action showed the ultimate example of love. He gave completely of himself in his selfless act that cost him his life, and allowed Lieutenant Sailor Venus to live. He asked nothing in return of anyone. If ever there is a greater example of love, I know not what one is. His loss is heaven's gain now, as he guards the golden streets."

That shook Venus. She had never thought of it that way. That is love: giving completely of one's self and never asking for anything else in return. Indeed, Fred had shown this to her unflinchingly. In death, he gave her life, and in the giving, gave her something that she had never really had before. By it, she also realized that she had shown that for Usagi on many occasions, and her friends to her. She would never know love? She was in the heart of it twenty-four hours a day. Love did not have to be a physical act to say that one has gained love, for now she understood, for the first time—this girl who bore the name of the goddess of love—the truest essence of love. A few tears streamed down her face but she was smiling now. Kahtiru Ace was wrong! She would never have love? No, she had it in spades! "You were wrong, you traitor," she muttered softly, "Rot in Hell, you vicious monster! I beat you, and you can't hurt me anymore!"

As Moon surrendered the lectern, the Chaplain came back up and said, "Yes, greater love has no man than this: that he would lay down his life for his friends. Indeed, the Scouts were his friends, and were his comrades, and he shall now be remembered in the annals of the great heroes of this great nation."

He then stepped aside and Admiral Ravalli stepped up and said, "The President of the Untied States of America on behalf of Congress awards the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the cost of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the special force of the Sailor Scouts against an invading force under arms is Staff Sergeant Fredric Stoner. On the date cited in the award, Fredric Stoner, along with the Sailor Scouts and elements of the Special Naval Unit of Trinidad and Tobago, performed a full frontal assault on an alien invading force threatening the security and even the existence of the whole world as we know it. Fighting wave after wave of animals mutated and recruited to act as security, he stayed behind with the SNU and formed a defensive barrier to protect the Sailor Scouts as they went in for the final assault. Once the foe had been soundly defeated, he and the SNU came in to render aid if needed. At that moment, a creature was set to attack Lieutenant Sailor Venus. With complete disregard for his own personal well-being and safety, he leaped in front of the creature and took the fatal blow intended for Lieutenant Sailor Venus. Because of his actions, the Sailor Scouts were able to gain the upper hand and completely defeat the foe to gain ultimate victory. This sacrifice reflects great credit upon himself, the Sailor Scouts, and the United States Marine Corps."

He finished reading the award, and then he stepped forward to Venus and said in hushed tones, "To you with my fullest condolences."

Wiping away more tears, she smiled and accepted the award, along with the medal, framed and set against a black velvet cloth. At this, the detachment from the President's Own who were recruited for the affair struck up as Marine Ceres began to sing the song, "To Dream The Impossible Dream."

The song went on about going forward and doing what the world calls impossible and foolish. It dealt with fighting a foe that cannot be beaten, right what is said cannot be righted, and to always stand for right without hesitation or question, even marching into Hell if the cause was heavenly enough. If one were able to do this, then, when is time came to die, he could do so in peace, knowing the world would be better off because one man had the courage to stand in the gap where others would run as cowards. Venus' chest was out now, as she stood up straight, now feeling proud for her Freddie, happy he found peace doing all the song described, and doing so by being allowed to die in the arms of someone who loved him dearly. She had learned love; he had taught it to her, and she was able to give it to him right up to his last breath. Wherever in heaven he ended up, that place was better for it. Freddie had reached the star that others could not reach.

Then came the part she was not sure she could do, but now found more courage to do than ever before. Yet, somehow, she felt a presence, and it seemed to say to her, "That's my girl. Do me proud!"

Sailor Mars noticed the grin, and then seemed to see an image, barely visible to her psychic ways, and then she smiled, recognizing who it was! Seven Marines in dress blue uniforms marched out to a spot set for them, each one with an M-14 rifle. They were all called to port arms as they stood at attention. The six who had acted as pallbearers now took positions around the coffin as the Roll Call of the Dead was sounded, starting with the lowest rank and time in service as was told to Admiral Ravalli. Because Sailor Moon led the team, she was to give the call. She shouted, "Gunnery Sergeant Marine Ceres!"

"Here, Ma'am," he responded.

"Lieutenant Sailor Mars!"

"Here, Ma'am."

"Lieutenant Sailor Mercury!"

"Here, Ma'am."

"Lieutenant Sailor Venus!"

After an awkward second, she came to full attention and sounded off, "HERE, MA'AM!"

"Lieutenant Commander Sailor Saturn!"

"Here, Ma'am."

"Lieutenant Commander Sailor Neptune!"

"Here, Ma'am."

"Lieutenant Commander Sailor Uranus!"

"Here, Ma'am!"

"Lieutenant Commander Sailor Pluto!"

"Here, Ma'am."

"Rear Admiral Sailor Jupiter!"

"Here, Ma'am."

Then came the harsh part. "Staff Sergeant Fredric Stoner," she said, obviously gaining no response.

"Staff Sergeant Fredric Stoner!" a little louder. No answer.

"STAFF SERGEANT FREDRIC STONER!" she shouted, but Sailor Mars very quietly whispered what she heard from the ethereal, saying, "Here, Ma'am."

Once the third one was said, two trumpet players stood as the leader of the seven riflemen shouted, "Ready...aim...FIRE!"

The rifles thundered as one, as the command was given again, and a third time. As soon as they were done, the six scouts that acted as pallbearers now took the flag off the coffin as one trumpet player began to play "Taps," as the rest of the scouts, the SNU, and any other military there snapped to attention and presented arms. The coffin began to lower into the ground as they held the flag, and another round of "Taps" was played, and this time, echoed by the second trumpet. Once done, the six side stepped, and Sailor Moon stepped forward and started to fold the flag as she had been taught. Everyone was worried that she would mess this up, but for some reason, she had a confidence and sureness to her actions. Once folded, Admiral Ravalli took the flag, set on top of it 21 brass shell casings of the kind that would have been in the rifles, all polished and bundled in transparent plastic, and went to Sailor Venus as if she had been his wife, saying quietly enough as to where only she could hear it, "Once again, my strongest condolences, and we ask of you to take this as a token of our thanks for your sacrifice."

He stepped back, saluted, and then went to the place where the coffin had been lowerd, standing in front of the rifle and boots, saluted, and said, "Rest in peace, Staff Sergeant Fredric Stoner. You served your country and the ones you loved well."

The chaplain then said, "This concludes our memorial service," and Venus, interestingly enough, nodded as if she had been given instructions, went over, took up a handful of dirt, and tossed it into the hole. It was not to be disrespectful, but as if to say she was ready to move on. No one protested as she walked away, and gathered around her as they headed to the limos to take them to the hotel.

Once there, Venus went back to her room, seemingly at peace. Artemis stood on the bed as she packed and said, "Mina-chan, I am so proud of you! You took that well."

She sighed, choking it back a touch, and said, "It still hurts, and yet, somehow, I think it will be okay."

She set the flag on top of the clothes with the medal and shell casings. They were taking a chartered flight from a naval base back to Japan, so she did not have to worry about the shell casings causing any problem. She then said, "Yes, I'll always miss him, but you know, it doesn't really matter if that 'certain someone' comes or not."

Artemis cocked his head as she zipped the bag shut. Minako noticed this and picked up Artemis, saying, "I have you, my friends, my family, and all of you love me, as I love you. I know love, and will know it forever. With all of you around, knowing you will be around forever, I shall never be alone."

He purred contentedly as he smiled, rubbing his head on her shoulder, and then he said, "You have to think he's watching you right now."

"Oh, I know he is," she said with a smile, "Find rest, my love; find rest. I will make sure you are never forgotten."

_...In the 30th Century..._

It had been five years now since the Gnarl War, and it was the anniversary of the formation of the Galactic Federated Republic. It was even sweeter that their former foe was a part, along with the Moundians, (or Trnxians, going by their own transmitted tongue,) Zoarians, and the Nekonians. Though Serenity was still queen of the Sol system, she was willing to yield some sovereignty to the new congress and presidency that was to form. This would include some small changes to their own constitution, but all would be well. Because of the combination of the respective fleets, all ships were now to bear the designation of _United Star Ship_. A new golden age was forming, and they would be ready to face it.

To celebrate this day, a new ship was to be commissioned: a heavy cruiser named the U.S.S. Fredric Stoner. Much in the way of fanfare was being given, as well as giving the history of why the ship was named what it was. Serenity was standing there on the podium with Endymion and both Usagi and a five-year old Hotaru, (Saturn reborn,) as well as Venus, the fleet admiral. She had 9 8-inch rail guns: six fore and three aft, as well as six particle accelerators port and starboard, and an array of anti-fighter blasters. The overall look was like that of an old Baltimore class, but low profile in design as the other ships in the fleet, not needing stacks, crow's nests, or antenna arrays. Indeed, she was a beautiful craft, and she was designed for exploration. She was to be led by a maverick captain that always seemed to skirt the edge of regulations, but they also knew such an one was needed for going into unexplored space.

In the middle of the ceremony, a small hover-car pulled up, and a chauffeur opened the door to a well-dressed five-year old boy, bearing some features of Venus, and someone else very familiar to her. "Mommy!" he shouted as he ran up the stairs. He was scooped up quickly and hugged by Venus, saying, "And how was kindergarten, Freddie?"

"Oh, it was so much fun!" she said, "It is so neat to have so many different boys and girls from all other worlds to play with and learn from!"

"That is so wonderful to hear," she said, "And wonderful now that all ships can be crewed the same way!"

He looked at the ship and said, "Is that the one they named for daddy?" remembering the picture on the wall of the manor in which they lived, the rack of medals, the special one in the frame, and the faded flag also framed. Serenity then said, "It was so wonderful that Mercury kept that hair all those years from when she made that medicine."

"Well, she thought I might want to keep it," she answered, and then whispered, "But I didn't think medical science had advanced so far as to be able to create an artificial sperm delivered by nanobot."

"She had the DNA," answered Serenity, "She just needed to isolate the right 23 chromosomes, create the strain, and bang, it's done."

Venus nodded as the crew was now trooping onto the ship for a shakedown cruise. Serenity then asked, "But, why did you ask for a y-chromosome? I would have thought you wanted a daughter?"

Venus just smiled and gave her a knowing look, and Serenity then said, "Sorry for being so insensitive."

"Forgiven," she said, smiling as she hugged her son, "Besides with all you, and my lovely boy, forever I shall know love."

Serenity smiled and thought, "_Yes, and may you always have that forever and ever. You earned it. You have Freddie back, in a way, and we all have Saturn again. I guess, in a way, love comes to find us again if we had it before. I am so glad it has turned out this way, and may no one ever take love from you again. Let love conquer all!_"


End file.
